


Former convict

by EdCardozo333



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:28:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 47
Words: 80,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21977335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdCardozo333/pseuds/EdCardozo333
Summary: Lapis Lazuli or "Facet-2N1D Cut-1XO", better known simply as Lapis, finally comes out of her sentence of more than 5000 years from the prison known as The Mirror, however the world of gems and humans has changed dramatically since Lapis was once free, so authorities submit her to the reintegration project known as "Little Homeworld" in the megalopolis of Beach City.In this process Lapis meets some interesting people, Peridot, Amethyst and finally Steven Diamond Universe.
Relationships: (minor) Peridot/Steven Universe, Centi/Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli/Steven Universe, Spinel/Steven Universe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 80





	1. Welcome to The Barn. Dungeons & Dragons?

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Ex convicta](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21948442) by [EdCardozo333](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdCardozo333/pseuds/EdCardozo333). 



That day Lapis wanted as soon as possible to get out of that prison of gray walls, the blue gem jumped from side to side in her room, hitting the walls with her feet and hands, Lapis would have spread her wings and broken the roof if she had wanted to, but doing that would give her a few more years in that prison guarded by Amethysts "Facet-2N1D Cut-1XO" One of the purple guards calls, bumping the bars to indicate Lapis to calm down, but then Holly Blue Agata appears.

"Agate, old friend, how are you doing?" Lapis asks smilingly as she puts her face between the bars, with a very different reaction from that of the Amethyst guards, who tensed at the presence of Agate, whose righteousness demanded respect from all people, Agate looked with some distaste at the other blue gem in front of her.

"Facet-2N1D Cut-1XO, surprisingly, the board of directors considered it appropriate to accept to finish your sentence ... immediately. Open the cell" Agate explains seriously, the guards soon opened the cell and were about to take the handcuffs off Lapis but in a movement she breaks her chains, leaving only the shackles on her wrists and ankles "... Let's go to my office" Agate orders after the initial surprise.

"Oh Agate, invite me to a dinner before" Lapis teases making the sound of a gas coming out only to bother, walking after the highest blue gem, who prefers to ignore the comment of the convict, former convict now "See you Amethysts ! " Lapis says goodbye turning for a few moments, the Amethysts sweat a little for the demonstration of strength of the blue gem.

On the way Lapis controlled herself to make small leaps of excitement, but that would have attracted the attention of Agate, whose white boots drew attention with those strong footprints she gave, finally the duo arrived at Holly Blue Agate's office, which received Lapis "kindly", with the former convict sitting in a small wooden chair in front of Agata's blue and tidy desk "Then Lapis, it's been a while since you were free" Agate mentions calm, but Lapis does not react calmly.

"5,700 years to be exact. And I hope to never come back in!" The blue gem quickly adds, Agate nods at Lapis's exclamation.

"Yes, I also hope you never come back ... Listen Lapis, things have changed a bit since they locked you up, so the board and I personally as your supervisor enrolled you in the project known as _"Little Homeworld "_ " Agate explains seriously, surprising Lapis, the gem of the ocean was really surprised.

"What does that mean?" Lapis asks a little worried.

"It's a method to reintegrate into society, you know, things like looking for a job, looking for hobbies, a support network, things like that. You would have to meet with me every week or two to observe your progress, we've already had some successful cases with your cellmates "Agate reports carefully and as delicately as possible, but the gem of the ocean was somewhat lost.

"How much could the world have changed in 5,700 years?" Lapis asks something shocked, water dripped from his forehead.

Agata sighed "Do you remember those super-developed primates who discovered how to plant and care for plants 5,300 years ago? Before they locked you up, of course, now it's like 10,000 years since that time" Holly Blue asks curiously, to which Lapis nodded "Well , just over 50 years ago they sent the first of theirs to the Moon, apart from that the authority of diamonds as such ceased to exist but you can already read everything in a history book as soon as you leave. I just want you to know that now humans are our _"equals"_ as Pink Diamond usually says"

Lapis's surprise face was unparalleled, her eyes were too stretched like the grimace that formed the rest of her face. Just like that, Agate had thrown her out of The Mirror "Surely you don't want new clothes?" An Amethyst kindly asks her but Lapis barely paid attention to the guard, in fact the blue gem looked at the dark but starry sky.

In the distance through the windows Lapis could then observe kilometers and kilometers of buildings, full of colors and vibrant lights that left the blue gem stunned as soon as they entered, the city called Beach City is worth the redundancy, it was located in what was once an almost empty beach just over 200 years ago "Good luck ... Do you want me to help you?" The Amethyst who was driving asks when the former convict arrived at the bus stop, very close to the center of Beach City.

Lapis without much low conversation, with her hands in the pocket of her orange jumpsuit taking care of the money and the paper with the direction they had given her, with bare feet and a look to the sky, observing those buildings of hundreds of floors over her, a concrete prison much larger than she would have ever expected. Gems and humans walked down the street, mostly without paying attention to Lapis, but some crashed while walking.

Once or twice it would have been acceptable, but when that was repeated more than 10 times was the last straw, Lapis finally took out her wings and flew out of the tangle of the crowd "Mmmmm ..." The gem of the ocean read the paper from her pocket. She was looking for that address, fortunately the map was clear, marking the main streets to follow from where they left the ocean gem, the 25th floor and room Number 255 of a red barn-themed building.

A strange design choice, but Lapis was not the one to judge. However, instead of entering the reception and going up an elevator to the 25th floor, Lapis directly flew to the 25th floor and opened the window of room 255 "Ahhhh! An intruder!" The tenant of the room screams watching the ocean gem enter through her window, it was a pretty small green gem, with a diamond-like blond hair, wearing visors and a green sweater over her physical form.

"Call me Lapis" The blue gem presents itself calmly, to which the green gem was about to throw a chair "Wait here I have my papers" Lapis hurriedly stopping the tenant with one of her wings, which lathe in the shape of a fist and stopped the green gem dry "Do you see it? Now we are companions" The blue gem sentences indifferently showing the papers to the tenant.

"Oh! You must be Lapis, Holly Blue Agate warned me that you would come ... Why did you have to enter through my window?" The green gem is quick to say hello, although she sweats a little nervous "Yes, I signed to help, some of my friends convinced me, I'm Peridot" The tenant came forward bringing her hand to Lapis's, but the blue gem did not recognize the gesture.

"I'm Lapis, flying is easier than walking ... Nice place, Peridot. Aren't you a little small to be a Peridot by the way?" The gem of the ocean sentence then releasing Peridot, and ignoring the green hand that extended the tenant while looking at that place, seemed larger than it was, but had the necessary things and a little more, a room, a hammock, a kitchen, a bathroom and a table that had on it a board, a plate with snacks and some dice.

"Thank you ... Thank you very much, but by the way, I am not small I am the normal size of a Peridot of my generation. Sorry I did not do anything to welcome you but you came a little earlier and actually I was waiting for some friends, "Peridot explained with sorrow as the blue gem examined the site, there were many things she did not recognize, such as dice or sheets with numbers on the table. There were also some kind of sculptures thrown around the place "Those are my Morps" The green gem mentions a certain pride, although Lapis did not understand that they were "Hey Lapis, why are you still wearing the prisoner suit?" Peridot asked curiously.

"I don't like the idea of changing my clothes" Lapis sentences indifferently "Or would you like to see me without clothes?" The ocean gem jokes boldly, to which a nervous Peridot hurriedly denied and yelled at Lapis "Too soon to make jokes?" Lapis asks curiously ignoring the reaction of the green gem.

Then the bell rings.

"I'm coming! I'm coming" Peridot runs to the door while Lapis goes into the kitchen, she observes a variety of fruits she had never seen before, some yellow, some green and some red.

"Peridot!" Two excited voices greeted appearing at the door, Lapis meanwhile sees them from the counter carefully, similar to a cat in fact. Peridot's guests were a 16-year-old human, with black and fluffy hair, white skin and a little taller than the Amethyst that accompanied him, who was too small to be a common Amethyst. The boy was wearing a black shirt with a yellow star, a pink jacket and blue pants, wearing pink flip flops, his fellow Amethyst on the other hand was wearing a black shirt, a kind of short jeans, an elongated mane and white boots .

"Steven, Amethyst! Good to see you, but wait, I want to introduce you to my new companion of the Little Homeworld initiative" The green gem exclaims returning the greeting to its guests, pointing then to the kitchen where Lapis poke his head a little more "Lapis , this is Steven and she is Amethyst "

"Hello" Steven greets the ocean gem happily, who simply watches him. Amethyst for her part only nodded.

"Did you run away from prison friend?" The purple gem exclaims calmly.

"Rather they let me out" Lapis responds simply, to which after a few moments Amethyst laughed, seeing that answer as a joke rather than the pure truth while she was going to sit at the table "What do they do?" Lapis asks without leaving the kitchen, but also observing how Steven and Peridot sat.

"...We are going to play Dungeons & Dragons ...." Peridot distressed sentence, but the ocean gem did not understand what his new partner was referring to "I am the Dungeon Master" The green gem adds, to which Lapis simply nodded waiting that she will stop talking.

"If they need me I will be in the kitchen pretending they don't exist and waiting for them to leave" Lapis exclaims quickly sitting on the kitchen floor to prevent the group from seeing her from that table in the living room, for the confused Steven and Amethyst.

"She ... she has been here for a long time?" Steven asks with some concern.

"He just came through my window a few minutes ago," Peridot mutters in fright in response, to which some surprised Steven and Amethyst watched worriedly towards the kitchen, where the most the former convict did was look surprised at the sink that dripped water as if It was the greatest wonder in the world.

"Ok ... I didn't expect someone to send you as a companion so soon for Little Homeworld. Do you know how long she has been locked up?" Steven asks in a whisper to the green gem, she who remembered what she read at high speed from Lapis' papers.

"5,700 years Steven, literally she was locked up since the civil war of the gems" Peridot responds, to which both Steven and Amethyst were stunned, with their mouths open ... "We're going to play Dungeons & Dragons please I've been waiting all week for this "Peridot sentence initiating the campaign.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarifications:  
> 1) The gems in this story are simply another race of the Earth, as in the Lord of the Rings where the Middle Earth is inhabited by humans, hobbits, elves and dwarves. But here there are only gems and humans.  
> 2) The details of the alternate history of the AU will be explained later.  
> 3) Also the crimes of Lapis.  
> 4) For those who say that Lapis is OOC with their jokes, I remind them that she made jokes of farts XD. And here is a pervert and a scumbag of care :v


	2. Enjoy the threesome!

Time flew by while the group was playing, it had already been a couple of hours since Steven and Amethyst had entered, but now Steven's character had been killed after moments of strenuous combat that now Amethyst had to face alone "I'll go serve me a glass of water "The hybrid mentions wiping the drops of sweat on his forehead while Peridot and the purple gem focused on the dice.

Walking calmly, Steven entered the kitchen only to find Lapis still sitting on the floor, the blue gem turned her head a little and watched the hybrid with indifference "Hello" Lapis greets.

"Hello, I think we don't present ourselves well. I'm Steven, Steven Universe." The human greets extending his hand to the gem, a similar gesture that Peridot had made before, once again, Lapis did not understand why that gesture "...You feel good?" Steven asks a little worried.

"Hi, I'm Lapis. Yes" The blue gem said simply, there was silence, a little awkward for the hybrid that walked a little detour to the tap, taking one of the glasses and pouring water, with the water jet coming out of the tap, Lapis was shocked and got up to almost push Steven while watching that in the front row "How amazing!" The ocean gem mentions crashing its face as if nothing against the water tap.

Steven was the only one who paid attention to that Lapis action, so he turned off the tap when he finished his water, receiving a surprised look from the blue gem.

"Do you control the water?" Lapis asked curiously "I do too" The gem adds.

"No, although I can do other things. I can float" The hybrid responds calmly "And yes, you are not the first Lapis I know, although if you must be the Lapis older than known" Steven exclaimed surprised, once again there was silence between him and the gem of the ocean, that just looked at him.

"... Do you like pink?" Lapis asks curiously, to which the smiling Steven nodded "Do all humans float?"

"No, but I am different. Pink is a gem and my dad is a human" The hybrid explains calmly, it was not normal, in fact the opposite, but Steven did not think it was a reason to show off "This is for Pink , the rest is for dad "The human mentioned raising his shirt a little and showing a pink gem in his navel.

"Can I touch it?" Lapis exclaims with surprise, Steven looked surprised at the ocean gem, which in turn fixed her eyes on Steven's pink gem.

"No" The hybrid responds, only to feel then how Lapis's fingers touch his gem, a chill passes through Steven's spine.

"Too late" Lapis sentences a smiling woman staring into the eyes of the hybrid, although this bothered Steven a bit.

"I see ..." The hybrid mentions sweating a little on the nerves "So ... What do you like Lapis?" Steven asks trying to talk to the ocean gem, which in turn seemed to think for a few moments.

"Well, I like the beach, the history, the water, the jokes, oh and flying" Lapis comments calmly raising her fingers, smiling at the human who listened carefully, the gem of the ocean seemed someone simple, more like a little girl that someone over 5000 years old, although she would not be the first person Steven knew to have that behavior.

"Tell me Lapis. Do you have any friends or someone who is free in society to support you? There are gems that have already been reintegrated thanks to Little Homeworld" The hybrid asks, the blue gem for its part seemed to look sideways thinking for a few moments, until she finally has an answer.

"I don't know," Lapis said simply. "Do you want to be my friend?" The blue gem asked Steven, who for his part nodded calmly, until he noticed that now Lapis was standing, she exceeded him in height, and she passed one of her arms around Steven's neck "No returns" The gem of the ocean sentences simply.

******

[22:30]

Amethyst checked the time taking out a clock from her gem "It's too late, I have to leave Peridot, my sister will worry if I don't show up for dinner. She has been practicing how to cook cakes and wants me to try them ... all of them" The purple gem mentions keeping her watch and getting up from the chair, the green gem said goodbye to Amethyst, who barely noticed what was happening in the kitchen before saying goodbye to Steven and Lapis, whose arm was still around the neck of the hybrid.

"Steven! Is everything alright there?" Peridot asks a little dismayed as she watched Steven and Lapis from the living room.

"Yes, I suppose" The hybrid mentions a little nervous, the gem of the ocean did not detach from him, but she did not speak or overcame him. The green gem entered the kitchen with concern, Lapis saw both Steven and Peridot but it didn't seem like she was going to hurt them. Not for now at least.

"Steven, first ... I need you to create a character for the next session. Secondly. Would it bother you ... stay here for the night?" The green gem exclaims, at first she began with indifference but quickly let her concern be noticed, caused by the presence of the blue gem, which she looked at her tilting her head over the shoulder of the hybrid.

"I have to call my mother then" Steven responds without compromising while taking out his cell phone, which Lapis sees with a lot of interest while the hybrid dialed and called, at first it only played music until then someone answered the call "Hello?" Steven greets.

"Hi, how is my favorite nephew?" An affectionate voice responds, but that actually seemed distant and echoed.

"Hi aunt White ... I'm still your only nephew" Steven mentions quickly.

"Hi?" Lapis exclaims curiously approaching the phone, that Steven moved away a little trying to separate from the blue gem without success.

"Lapis please" The hybrid rushed a little nervous.

" _Hi?_ Steven, are you with a girl?" White asks excitedly, but Steven hastened to deny.

"No! Well, yes, but not in the sense that I know you are thinking," Steven explains hurriedly as he had to shut Lapis' mouth with his hand, which seemed to be a solution for the moment. "Listen aunt White, I'm going to sleep at Peridot's house, she needs help with her new partner Lapis. Could you let mom and Pink know? "The hybrid asked calmly.

"Oh, are you going to score a threesome? Sure, take all the time in the world." White sentences hanging up the phone while Steven screams from his nerves. Meanwhile, Peridot was blushing, while Lapis barely reacted.

"... I'm sorry to scream, I hate it when she gets that way" Steven mentions literally pink, heading towards Peridot, the hybrid's skin was rapidly losing that color, but then he noticed his hand getting wet, then he looked at his hand, Steven observes how Lapis' tongue rubbed through it.

The tongue was blue and viperine, passing through the fingers of the hybrid, which also observed the fangs of the ocean's gem "... Lapis!" Steven screams again, drawing his hand between disgusted and angry, the hybrid went to the tap to wash the saliva he had now.

"Your hand tastes salty" Lapis mentions calmly while a green gem looked strangely at her new partner.

"Lapis, you're not supposed to lick other people" Peridot hurriedly explained while Steven looked for a rag to dry his hand, he still looked at Lapis.

"Okay" The blue gem quickly accepts "So ... Steven and you sleep together? I just met you Peridot, but you seem to know how to have fun" Lapis asked his new friends curiously with a smile that clearly didn't mean well, the other two soon denied blushing yelling at the gem of the ocean.

"If I understand correctly, you don't know what a phone is, a tap or many other things, but if you know how to make sexual jokes?" Steven interrogates quickly, to which Lapis nods.

"I learned many of them in prison, and before entering I had already seen animals reproduce" The blue gem mentions with simplicity, to which the hybrid understood by sighing while Peridot on her part still had to calm down a little more.

"Very well, tomorrow we can go to a library to start explaining some things to Lapis." The green gem is finally able to speak, Lapis smiles excitedly at the idea of going to a library since she hasn't been to one for a long time, while on the other hand Steven seemed like a good start to start reintegrating the ocean's gem into society.

"I'll sleep in the hammock" Steven calmly asked "Do you have a book?" the hybrid asked the green gem, which took the object out of her gem "Thank you"

"You should start storing things in your gem too" Peridot emphasizes the hybrid, which raises its shoulders with lack of interest.

"I'm sorry, I usually use Lion for these things. But I can't get a giant feline out on the street ... you know how he gets with other pets" Steven mentions calmly heading towards the hammock in the living room with Peridot next to him, for his part to the discomfort of the hybrid, Lapis followed him closely without a word.

"Ehh ... I have a puff in my room if Lapis serves you, as a bed" Peridot exclaims attracting the attention of the blue gem while she watched her companion with doubt.

"What is sleep?" Lapis asks, the green gem was a little surprised, but it's not the first time she had heard that question from someone.

"It's when you're lying down, you relax, you close your eyes and don't think about anything," Peridot explains simply, but she noticed that Lapis still didn't understand that explanation, not completely at least. For its part, the gem of the ocean bent down a little to see what the hybrid was reading.

"I told him that explanation" The hybrid added calmly while reading in the language of the gems, although it was a little different from how Lapis remembered it, the blue gem could still understand most of what was written between the pages "I think that Lapis will learn to sleep when he is ready "Steven exclaims calmly.

"... If you say so" Lapis and Peridot mention almost simultaneously "Hey Peridot, we share a neuron" the blue gem exclaims excitedly heading towards her green companion, who sat in her chair looking towards Lapis to watch her. Peridot also prepared a character sheet for the next D&D session.

******

**[3:40 in the morning]**

Peridot snored asleep in her chair when Steven woke up again, he noticed in the windows that it was still night for what must be early in the morning. The hybrid pushed the book in his hands and was about to go down from the hammock to go for a glass of water when he noticed Lapis' eyes staring at him with indifference "Hello" The blue gem greeted again.

"... Have you been looking at me for a long time?" Steven asks seriously, to which Lapis nodded, the human sighed calmly. "Yes, Mom did that. To whom I cheat, she surely continues to do it." The hybrid mentions indifferently. "Could you stop doing it?" Steven asks kindly.

"I will continue to do so," Lapis replies indifferently, receiving a sigh from the resigned Steven who stands up for his glass of water, he is followed once more by the blue gem.

"Because you follow me?" The hybrid exclaims with concern as he felt Lapis behind him.

"Because you are my friend" The blue gem sentences simply, Steven felt that there was no malice or double meaning in Lapis' voice, she spoke very directly, although she did not want the gem could become very scary because of this trait "You're very good at staying still, you don't make noises like Peridot, you just breathe" Lapis adds with a smile.

"... Thank you" Steven sighs as calmly as he can while listening to the green gem snore in his chair. In a few moments Steven returned to the hammock of the apartment to sleep, every time he changed sides he found that Lapis moved to continue observing him directly to the face, there came a point where the hybrid fell from exhaustion while he had to stare into the eyes of The blue gem. Unwittingly they had made a challenge of looks where Steven saw Lapis seriously, while she had an innocent smile.

******

[9:00 in the morning]

Someone knocked on the door, it was the only sound that had attracted Lapis' attention all night, Steven now slept on the floor after falling from the hammock, while Peridot remained asleep in the chair. Ever since Steven had fallen, Lapis was only watching him for the rest of the night, but with the knocks against the door she knew someone had arrived.

The blue gem just got up and with a turn of the handle she noticed how the lock broke, surprising the person outside because some parts of the mechanism of the bolt jumped. Then Lapis opened the door a little, finding a tall, lanky white gem in front of the door, dressed in light blue colors, wearing a fluffy white jacket with pink stars.

"Hello" Lapis greets with the door between open, about to close it once more.

"Who are you?" The white gem asks worriedly as she puts her hands between the door frame and the door itself, only to feel like the blue gem crushed her fingers, although the white gem did not show much pain or emotion for this.

"I am Lapis" The gem of the ocean responds calmly.

"I am Pearl, I am Steven's mother" The white gem hurried to say, Lapis was still trying to close the door when Pearl opened it wide, just to see that her _"baby"_ was on the floor "Steven ! " The white gem called worried while Lapis stood still at the door.


	3. My father is not a loser

Steven felt that the day had started well, he was lying on the ground and with his mother shouting his name, Pearl had not taken in raising the hybrid to look at him from head to toe, making sure Steven was intact "Peridot!" The white gem calls, alarming the owner of the apartment who rises in dismay in her chair.

"What?" Peridot asks in dismay when she notices Pearl's annoying look on her "Ah, Mrs. Diamond! -" The green gem exclaims surprised to see the face of the white gem, while Steven was carving his eyes and trying to get away from Pearl, but she kept him by the shoulder.

"Hi Peridot, let's talk a little" Pearl mentions while grabbing the green gem with apparent tranquility "Who is the Lapis Lazuli by the way?" The white gem asks curiously as she looks at the gem of the ocean, which seemed quite lost but greets Pearl with her hand.

"She is my new partner, she left prison yesterday. You must remember that I enrolled in the Little Homeworld project" Peridot reports a little nervous.

"... Did you let my baby sleep in a hammock with a former convict in your apartment?" Pearl inquires annoyed, to which the green gem remains with her mouth open without knowing what to answer, she simply lets herself be dragged by the white gem outside the apartment. Pearl looks at Lapis "The walls are thin Steven, shout if you need anything" The white gem sentence closing the door. Those inside can hear the murmurs of Pearl and Peridot, with Pearl asking about everything that happened last night.

"... I didn't expect you to have a Pearl" Lapis mentions calmly as she stood next to Steven, again she passes her arm around the neck of the hybrid that yawned while watching the sky from the window.

"It's not mine, it's Pink" Steven says calmly, but a side smile accompanies him "She is my mom" The hybrid declares quite proud of it, although the blue gem just stared indifferently at Steven "If you'll excuse me, I go to the bathroom "Steven mentions, to which he takes out Lapis's arm, she had not done any force but she looked confused.

When the hybrid walked to the bathroom, then he notices how the gem of the ocean followed "Lapis ..." Steven exclaims when he sees Lapis, both were already in front of the bathroom door, with the hybrid slowly starting to open it. Steven's half-open eyes couldn't get much emotion out of Lapis's eyes, she simply smiled at him.

"Steven, good morning" The gem of the ocean greets kindly, the hybrid sighs then entering the bathroom and closing the door behind him. Turning on the white room light.

Inside the bathroom Steven was about to pee, when suddenly Lapis opens the door, curious to see what the hybrid "Lapis!" Steven shouts in alarm at the gem of the ocean, raising his fly and trying to get Lapis as quickly as possible from there, both the hybrid and the gem of the ocean then hear how the door to the living room reopened, with Pearl running through the apartment dragging Peridot.

The green and white gem soon dragged Lapis as far away as they could from Steven and the bathroom "... What did you plan to do?" Pearl authoritative question to the gem of the ocean, which in turn looked in the direction of the bathroom with the intention of going there again, and she would have done it if it were not because Pearl took her from her neck "I will not repeat it, do not enter the bathroom when my son is there "Pearl sentences seriously.

"What is he supposed to do in the bathroom?" Lapis asks the white gem curiously, which in turn did not know what to answer. A small viper grin spread across the blue gem's face, but no one noticed because she quickly removed it when she heard Peridot speak.

"Believe me after you find out what humans do there, you want to go to that room. In fact Steven is the only one who uses my bathroom ... Amethyst used it once but she didn't know what to do and I just broke. Everything just broke "Peridot explains to the blue gem, she listened in dismay. Steven finally got out of the bathroom, he was blushing.

"Believe me after you find out what humans do there, you don't feel like going to that room again. In fact Steven is the only one who uses my bathroom ... Amethyst used my bathroom once but she didn't know well what to do and it ended up broken. Everything was just broken "Peridot explains to the blue gem, she listened in dismay. Steven finally got out of the bathroom, he was blushing.

"... I forgive you this time because you didn't know what a human is doing but I don't want it to happen again" Pearl sighs heading towards Lapis while releasing her, meanwhile the ocean gem returns again behind the hybrid, which was trying to talk to his mother but Peridot interrupts him.

"Steven. Can we go buy clothes for Lapis?" The green gem asks to grab the edge of Steven's jacket like a little girl, in fact Peridot imitates the expression of a little girl to attract the attention of the hybrid.

"Than?" Pearl and Lapis quickly ask in dismay at the request of the green gem "Hey we also share a neuron" The ocean gem exclaims excitedly, but the white gem only sees Lapis in confusion, Pearl did not understand what the blue gem meant and she preferred not to ask.

"Well they won't let her into the library or any other decent place as long as she continues to wear prisoner clothes with identification and everything" Peridot reasons calmly, Pearl was about to speak but Steven is much faster in his response, the nature of her son, she loved it, but in this case she didn't like the answer.

"Sure, just let me go through my wallet and we'll go right away" Steven accepts calmly as he leaves for the hall of The Barn, accompanied by Lapis and Peridot behind him, Pearl sighs and she does not take long to accompany her baby, she watch the ocean gem carefully, the mother was especially upset when she sees Lapis run her hand through the neck of the hybrid.

Going down in the elevator the only talk there is between Peridot and Steven, who talked about D&D and the next character of the hybrid, meanwhile the music of the elevator attracted Lapis who hummed animatedly. Finally arriving at the interior floor, the group arrived at Pearl's car, an elegant black convertible.

"Steven sit forward" Pearl orders calmly while Steven was still trying to separate from Lapis, who wanted to sit in the passenger seat as well, if not because Peridot and the hybrid quickly managed to work as a team so that the gem of the ocean released Steven , Pearl would have had to intervene. That would not have been nice.

"Excuse Lapis, Mrs. Diamond, she is unaware of the concept of personal space, if that sounds better than other words." The green gem rushes to apologize for her companion, who stretched through the back seats enjoying the wind in silence. For its part, the white gem only squeals while starting her car.

"Why do you call Pearl," Mrs. Diamond "?" Lapis asks her companion in consternation, but the one who answers is Pearl herself.

"Oh, I took my wife's " _last name_ " when we got married. Many call me Mrs. Diamond for that" The white gem explains with joy, but meanwhile the blue gem had more questions.

"What is a last name?" Lapis exclaims curiously.

"It's like ... a word that goes after the names of people, indicates which are their parents and other relatives. Generally humans take surnames due to an old job, region or characteristic of their ancestors, some gems have taken surnames for the same reasons "Peridot explains calmly.

"... Steven's last name is Universe?" The gem of the ocean adds once again, meanwhile Pearl seemed to want to stop dead, but not because of Lapis' questions, but because of what she implied. Steven sighed in annoyance when he noticed his mother's gaze, her eyes were looking at him strictly and rigorously.

"Steven. What did I tell you? You shouldn't use that last name when you introduce yourself to people." Pearl sentences seriously, but she receives a click from her son's tongue. "Don't do that." The white gem adds quickly.

"It's my father's last name, I have every right to use it" Steven calmly sentences, only to receive a tug in the ear for a few seconds from Pearl "Auch" The hybrid complains in pain by rubbing the lobe of his ear, the car was silent, and the only person who was not uncomfortable to some extent was Lapis.

"... I can cut the tension here" The ocean gem mentions, moving a little forward to touch Steven's cheek with her finger, a small laugh escapes from the hybrid that had the intention to calm down but then Pearl returns to talk to add something.

"There's no tension here, I'm just telling the truth.Your father is a loser" Pearl exclaims obviously, Steven's frown frowns sitting in his seat. Now the gem of the ocean did not speak, she just kept touching Steven with her finger, while Peridot was sweating in her seat and Pearl was driving.

******

While Lapis was playing, she did not pay attention to downtown Beach City, oriented in what was once an almost deserted coast, now houses, hotels, businesses and restaurants grew that were filled mainly in summer even if they attracted people throughout the year. That place was the richest and most populated part of the city, where the group was heading to a private property, a wooden mansion at the foot of a giant statue.

"Lapis, can you stop?" Steven asks when Pearl stops to park inside the property, meanwhile the gem of the ocean only laughs at the request of the hybrid and she continued what she had done inside the car, to the annoyance of the hybrid "Is she at home? " Steven asks, he sighs resigned to Lapis' actions just to talk to his mother.

"No. But I'll talk to her later." The white gem mentions calmly, a small growl comes out of the hybrid as it heads toward the stairs, followed by Lapis.

"Wait ... When did we get here?" The blue gem suddenly mentions when she realizes that she was climbing stairs after Steven, due to her reaction Lapis almost fell on her back, being held in time by Peridot and the hybrid, who did not hesitate to prevent her from falling.

"Pay more attention Lapis" Peridot and Steven stress, both worried as they continued to climb, at this the blue gem nodded and spread its wings to quickly climb to the top of the stairs, the door was only a few meters from there, because of this the hybrid directs a mocking smile at Peridot and floats to where Lapis was "You float well" Lapis mentions smiling.

"Thank you," Steven exclaims calmly.

"I did not bring anything metal is not fair, I can not fly otherwise" Peridot emphasizes with annoyance to his companions while she continued to climb the stairs, meanwhile the hybrid took the time to take a copy of the house keys , located behind a basket with watermelons.

Entering the building Steven is followed by Lapis and Peridot, he goes to his room that to the surprise of the blue gem had no walls or doors "What is this?" The blue gem asks throwing itself on the bed of the hybrid, bouncing due to how fluffy it was "It's soft" Lapis adds as she begins to stir up there.

"It's a bed, Lapis, people sleep there," Steven exclaims as he opens a drawer to take out his wallet.

"Why didn't you sleep in one last night?" The gem claims the hybrid, which for its part ran out of convincing answers to give Lapis.

"... Because I didn't want to" Steven sentences simply "Now come on, Garnet's store is not that far from here. We can walk" The hybrid changes the subject calmly, jumping to the floor of the house ignoring the stairs from his room, Peridot was sighing to go back down the stairs but Lapis accompanies the hybrid in one jump.

"Pink Pearl, Spinel and Bismuth are not here today, right?" Peridot mentions while accompanying the duo.

"No, they took a well-deserved vacation" Steven sentenced calmly, retracing his steps to the beach, on the various docks of the coast highlighted a clothing store with reddish, bluish and violet colors that combined many styles in the murals.

"Welcome to the Ruby & Sapphire boutique, although usually only Garnet is working" Steven and Peridot present that business to Lapis excitedly, who in turn observes it indifferently "You don't look surprised" The hybrid quickly emphasizes, to which the gem of the ocean tilt the head.

"Do I have to change?" Lapis asks in dismay, to which the green gem and Steven nod, pushing the blue gem inside the store, inside was the owner, Garnet who wore a tight purple shirt, she receives new visitors from the counter.

"Steven, Peridot!" Garnet greets by jumping and urging his two friends to give them a hug "And who do we have here?" The reddish gem asks, taking off her glasses, heading towards Lapis, who turns her head to watch Garnet from side to side.

"You are weird. I am Lapis" The blue gem is calm, Steven and Peridot hurry to try to make Lapis apologize with the fusion but calmly Garnet moves the hybrid and the green gem away while putting her glasses back on .

"Thank you, I am Garnet" The fusion exclaims trying to greet Lapis with her hand, but the gem of the ocean did not react, Peridot reviewed that Lapis had to be taught what a handshake was.

"You're welcome" Lapis accepts that _"thanks"_ with a smile.

"Garnet, you see, we are looking for some clothes for Lapis, she just got out of prison and as you will see ... she has no more clothes than her prisoner suit, so we thought it would be a good idea to come and buy in our boutique preferred "Steven exclaims with a slightly nervous smile as he heads for the fusion, taking out his wallet, and grabbing Lapis's shoulder to make sure he keeps an eye on the ocean's gem.

"Oh, you know you don't need to pay Steven, it wasn't necessary to bring your wallet. But, does she come from the Little Homeworld project? I sent them some clothes a few weeks ago to offer to the former convicts," Garnet mentions motherly as she grabs one of the cheeks of the hybrid, to the annoyance of Steven himself. Then the permafusion goes to Lapis "So Lapis, what style of clothes do you like?" Garnet asks curiously to his new client.

"... This one" Lapis responds after looking at herself from head to toe, she liked the prisoner's suit.

"You can't reintegrate into society if you dress like a prisoner, most will think you ran away" Steven seriously claims, holding the blue gem as it wanted to leave, she thought the work was finished, but Garnet and Peridot also hold her.

"No problem Lapis, I'm sure we can find your own style quickly" Permafusion mentions excited while pushing Lapis to one of the testers, on the other hand Garnet also collects diversity of sets at high speed, with Peridot as assistant.

*******

[Two hours later]

Steven was sitting in one of the armchairs of the boutique, very bored when he suddenly noticed Lapis standing beside him still dressed in his prisoner uniform "Lapis? Weren't you trying on clothes?" The hybrid asks surprised while the gem of the ocean sits next to him.

"Yes, but Garnet and Peridot got excited, now they are just accumulating clothes in the fitting room" Lapis responds without much emotion, Steven growls with a little anger as he watches the green gem and permafusion throw sets near an empty fitting room. Meanwhile, the hybrid takes a white shirt with blue stripes, blue pants and black boots thrown around.

"Take" The hybrid kindly offers after losing almost two hours.

"... Do you want me to change in front of you?" The gem of the ocean clearly asks with double intention, a prickly smile on her face only confirms it.

"No!" Steven responds annoyed and flushed while Lapis walks towards an empty fitting room to change while she laughs jokingly.

After a few minutes Steven finally sees Lapis come out of the fitting room, her clothes were a little big but while the blue gem was observed from head to toe she gave a slight smile "I like it" The gem of the ocean sentences simply, for his part the hybrid sighs relieved.

"Garnet! I already got clothes for Lapis" Steven yells at Garnet and Peridot, who then realize that Lapis was next to the hybrid, the gem of the ocean was calm as she followed Steven again like a barnacle to a rock the reddish gem on the other hand approached to evaluate Lapis carefully.

"It's ... pretty simple" Garnet ends without saying much "It reminds me of a regular navigator. Are you sure you want this? There are still other options" The fusion offers kindly, but the blue gem was already leaving the place, she tried to drag with her the hybrid that she grabbed from the neck.

"I have to pay" Steven insists as he pulls on the opposite side to which Lapis moved, both were very strong and it seemed that the ground was going to break under their feet.

"Hey Steven, don't worry, you don't have to pay," Garnet exclaims as she stirs the spongy hair of the hybrid, before Steven and the blue gem broke the floors of her shop "Lapis, be careful with Steven. I don't say it because he is strong, although it is, but because Pearl is going to chase you if she finds out that you did something to him "The permafusion claims going to Lapis, who for her part pays little attention to Garnet but finally she stops trying to drag the hybrid.

Peridot watched the blue gem, approving the clothes Steven had chosen for her. Meanwhile, the hybrid and the red gem talked a little, Steven seemed to think "Garnet ... Do you think my dad is a loser?"

"Yes," Garnet responds calmly, the hybrid's face reflects his discomfort almost instantly.

"Why?" Steven asks angrily.

"Steven, your father has been sleeping in a van and has been working in a car wash for more than a decade. I don't know, it seems to me that considering who your mothers are, Greg is quite like a loser." The fusion responds simply, the hybrid leave the store quickly, followed by Lapis. Peridot is also quick to follow the duo.

"... Steven" Peridot calls the hybrid that was starting to take a pink color, a bad sign.

"What?" Steven exclaims annoyed, but when he turns to look at the green gem, he meets Lapis, who was between them. The gem of the ocean on the other hand proceeds to touch the nose of the hybrid as if nothing.

"So, do you have three parents?" Lapis asks curiously, to which Steven sighs while nodding "Curious" The blue gem mentions, she receives a little laugh from the hybrid.

"Listen. What do you think if we go for ice cream or something?" Peridot offers trying to calm the atmosphere, although she herself was very nervous.

"... No, I think I prefer to go visit my father. You can go to the library as you planned Peridot" Steven answers more calmly trying to turn around, only to find Lapis with her head on his shoulder, looking at him.

"I think she prefers to go with you. I'll go for some books for Lapis, see you Steven" The green gem says goodbye to the hybrid and the blue gem, which corresponds to Peridot's farewell, Lapis had a smile while accompanying Steven, who also had a small smile as they walked to a slightly poorer and smaller part of Beach City.

"Get ready to meet my father, he's the coolest person I know," Steven says with joy.


	4. We won?

Greg Universe's car wash was nothing of the other worldl, but Lapis loved how the building sign was shaped like an elephant, so the ocean gem looked at that figure while she had a big smile from ear to ear "Dad ! " Steven knocks on the van door parked in front of the establishment, the only vehicle at that time.

"What's up? Who is it?" Greg asks sleepily as he opens the doors of his van, the adult carving eyes and then notices the hybrid, they both hug "Steven!" Greg greets excited to find his son "How is everything?" The adult exclaims excitedly.

"Well, everything is fine" Steven says calmly, then the hybrid notes how Lapis was behind him, again. The blue gem greeted Greg, who corresponded the gesture with curiosity.

"Who is your new friend, Steven?" Greg greets calmly.

"I am Lapis" The blue gem introduces herself, Steven feels fortunate that his father does not try to shake hands with Lapis, since she still did not learn what a handshake was.

"Lapis is Peridot's new partner, she came thanks to the Little Homeworld project. Peridot and I are teaching her Beach City, and some other things," Steven calmly explains to his father, Greg nods calmly.

"... Steven slept with Peridot" Lapis sentenced stingily, to the surprise of the adult and his son, who was now blushing.

"That's not true! ... Well, currently I slept in Peridot's apartment, but not in that way" Steven rushes to assure his father, who understands the apparent joke of the blue gem "Lapis, is not supposed that you say things like that in front of other people's parents "The hybrid emphasizes recovering its normal color while heading towards Lapis, she laughed slightly at Steven's behavior.

"Hehe, don't worry Steven, I can understand a good joke from time to time" Greg sighs something nervous while scratching the back of his neck "So, do you two want to drink or eat something? Maybe play some music?" The adult offers animatedly, to which Steven smiled delighted by the idea. The adult enters his van to take out his instruments.

"Look at this, this is one of the reasons why dad is so cool" The hybrid exclaims when Greg pulls out a pair of guitars, which Lapis looks surprised and curious, Steven grabs his guitar and shows it to the ocean's gem " You have to make the strings vibrate with your fingers" Steven explains starting to play in front of Lapis, accompanied by Greg.

The ocean gem was amazed by the tune of the father and son duo, sitting next to them, while Steven played finds a triangle with the drumstick among his father's things, which Steven delivers to Lapis to play, the blue gem plays that instrument excited but quite erratic, so she starts singing. Lapis's voice was a very different subject to her abilities with the triangle.

It was surprising that Lapis had a harmonious and fine voice, with a sharp tone as a countertenor, ending the song that father and son sang. Steven gives Lapis a small round of applause. "I didn't expect you to sing, although it seems like it's something that all gems know now that I think about it." The hybrid calmly sentences while leaving his guitar just like his father. Greg is quite happy about the makeshift show the three had done.

"This is amazing! Can I play a guitar?" Lapis exclaims excitedly heading towards the hybrid, Steven took his guitar happy again, only for the gem of the ocean to take it from his hands "... Now what do I do?" The blue gem asks while holding the instrument.

"I give guitar lessons, let me show you" Greg mentions as he stands in front of Lapis, instructing her to start playing the instrument, with Steven watching closely. Lapis was not a prodigy, but she learned how to play the basics.

"I don't know why Steven's mother said you were a loser, this seems very good to me." The blue gem mentions excitedly while still playing the guitar, while the adult stops completely.

"... So Pearl said that," Greg sentences seemingly indifferent, while Steven placed a hand on his father's shoulder and prevented Lapis from also talking about how Garnet had called Greg a loser, meanwhile the adult got up. "I think I'm going for a walk, there's food and drink inside the car wash, or a little money if you prefer. Keep practicing Lapis" Greg kindly says goodbye to the hybrid and the gem.

"... Why did you have to mention that Mom called him a loser?" Steven annoys Lapis annoyingly, the hybrid now had a pinkish color once more while the gem of the ocean kept playing the guitar, she just lifted her shoulders.

"I don't know, I thought it was a good compliment." Lapis stresses innocently. "Can we eat something? Whatever it means." The blue gem asks curiously, to which Steven sighs as he goes to the car wash, the hybrid already had a copy of the keys he uses to open the door "... Are you mad at me?" Lapis asks Steven while he is looking for leftovers from the fridge.

"... No, it's just that it's a sensitive issue. Dad and mom don't get along" The hybrid explains sighing as he pulled out some pizza and hot dog portions to share with the blue gem, which sits at the small table inside the car wash in front of Steven. Lapis looked curiously at her food, but she imitates what she sees the hybrid do. Although there were differences, the blue gem easily swallows the food almost without chewing, to some discomfort of Steven who ate smaller bites.

"So how did they get you?" The gem of the ocean asks when she finishes her portions, she receives a look of curiosity from the hybrid "I mean, I will not know exactly how it works when gems and humans have babies, but as I saw with animals, you need them to have sex to have you drink. How were you born, if they don't get along? " Lapis explains calmly.

"Mom didn't give birth to me, that was Pink, she and dad got along ... Let's say Dad was a whim by Pink, he wouldn't be the first or the last one" Steven replies, the hybrid was awkward "You know, I don't like to talk about this "He sentences seriously, while Lapis took advantage of what she believed was the ideal situation to steal Steven's food portions" ... Just eat that, it took away my appetite "Steven sentences just to see how the blue gem snatches his portions and devours them.

"Thank you" Lapis exclaims when he finishes devouring "What was that I just ate?" The gem finally asks, a side smile formed on Steven's face as he explained some things about human food, Lapis thought that Agate was very right, in the end the humans had advanced and changed a lot.

It was already beginning to get dark while Lapis and Steven kept talking, the hybrid waited for his father to arrive but he did not seem to come back "Wait a few moments I will see if Dad answers my calls" The hybrid emphasizes while he takes out his cell phone. Steven tries that Lapis doesn't listen his calls but without much success. The blue gem was still on top of the hybrid, Steven then gives up and dials the phone only to find that he had 27 lost calls from Pearl "... That looks bad" Steven mentions terrified while dialing his father, but he also doesn't answer "Very bad "The hybrid sentence.

"What is this?" Lapis practically takes Steven's cell phone from his hands, she dials Pearl, the blue gem was interested in the red color of missed calls.

"Steven?!" Pearl screams from the other side while the hybrid also screams, Steven cuts the call while starting to run to his house, it seemed that the hybrid lost his breath in it, for her part Lapis followed him from behind, very closely, the blue gem was fast and was surprised at how scared Steven could run, even though he was already sweating by the time they got home from the hybrid, they hadn't been so far away but the hybrid had been terrified.

Outside the house was Pearl, who clearly looked reluctantly at Steven's company, as he got closer he slowed down as he regained his composure. Lapis ran her arm around the neck of the hybrid and greeted the white gem "Hello mom" Steven greeted with a nervous smile, he runs his hand down the back of his neck and tries to remove Lapis's arm, although it was impossible with fatigue.

"Where were you? Why did you have your cell phone in silence?" Pearl interrogates her son, she was upset, the hybrid was quickly looking for an excuse.

"We were in Steven's dad's car wash" The blue gem is faster than Steven, he was now trying to explain himself to his mother.

"With Greg ?! I'm going to call him right now" The white gem sentence taking out her cell phone while the hybrid stood still in place.

"He doesn't answer, he left and he didn't come back when we left" Steven explains while his mother was dialing Greg's number on her cell phone, a small smile formed on Pearl's face, but the white gem soon takes it away to purse the frown, at the beginning Pearl mutters something that her son cannot hear well.

"How irresponsible of you to leave you alone" The white gem emphasizes with annoyance "Let's go inside Steven" Pearl orders strict while climbing the stairs, with Steven following her, but when the white gem realizes he sees that the hybrid could not take off Lapis of him "Lapis ... go away" Pearl sentences simply.

"... But I don't want to" The blue gem responds indifferently.

"... And what did you do while Greg was gone?" Pearl asks with narrowed eyes as she addresses Lapis.

"We ate leftovers" The duo responds quickly, Steven wanted to hurry as much as possible to speak to try to prevent his mother from jumping on the blue gem, in case Lapis said something out of place. Unfortunately for the hybrid, the look on his mother's face was still a disappointment.

"Greg shouldn't let you eat things like that, they hurt your health" Pearl reminds Steven seriously "... When are you leaving Lapis?" The white gem goes back to Lapis, which for its part only sticks out its tongue, the white gem was surprised by the viperine tongue that the blue gem possessed but was also offended by the mockery Lapis directed at her.

"... I hope soon" Steven mutters as he has to see his mother direct a face of annoyance at the blue gem, which only lies more on the shoulder of the hybrid. Lapis had a mocking smile directed at Pearl after hiding her tongue again in her jaws.

"Steven. Can we go to Peridot's apartment again?" The blue gem asks as she grabs Steven's arm, the hybrid cursed inside her the look that Lapis gave her, she did as Peridot and the blue gem used a childish and innocent face to ask Steven for something.

"No" Pearl responds withering "Steven came your mother, come on you have to go up to the house" The white gem orders her son, who was sweating from the forehead.

"Can Lapis go up too? I'll call Peridot to come pick her up." The hybrid exclaims quickly. "She doesn't have a cell phone yet." Steven exclaims, and certainly that was the truth. Pearl sighs in annoyance, then she goes up the stairs, allowing the blue gem and her son to climb together.

"Can I have your cell phone?" Lapis curious question, to which Steven quickly denies her request. Steven's house was now ready for a dinner, Pearl had brought a table, placed the tablecloth, glasses and cutlery, in addition to preparing noodles with sauce and meat for her family.

The blue gem was curious about the new food, so she approaches with the bare hands to touch the source of noodles, when she receives a small blow on the hand from the white gem, which clearly disapproves that behavior "I don't expect many manners of you, and yet you disappoint me. You can't eat someone else's food, and you can't eat with your hands, "Pearl explains seriously.

"... But I do not eat with my hands, I eat with my mouth" Lapis responds in dismay, the white gem rolls her eyes, but moves the blue gem away from the table and sits her on the armchair of the house.

"Can Peridot come?" Pearl exclaims asking her son, who calls Peridot from the kitchen.

"She says yes, but it will take a while," Steven answers calmly as he cuts the call, the hybrid proceeds to sit on the couch next to Lapis. Pearl watched even from the table that nothing happened among the young and the gem, but Steven was more interested in observing his own house, where his biological mother would come from.

Then finally Pink Diamond makes an appearance, she comes out of nowhere, a tall and thin figure, with pink skin, a fluffy hair of that same color and dressed in an elegant purple business suit "Hello Steven! Hello Pearl!" The pink gem greets excited to see her family "Oh! And who do we have here? Are you a new friend of Steven?" Pink Diamond exclaims when he sees Lapis, but the gem of the ocean seemed about to explode.

"She is Lapis, she comes from the Little Homeworld project" Steven explains placing his hand on Lapis's shoulder, she had her eyes fixed on Pink Diamond that was smiling friendly, Lapis looked like a fish.

"What good news, it's good to see more and more prison gems reintegrate into society. Treating criminals as people always has benefits." The pink gem exclaims cheerfully. "Tell me Lapis. What prison were you in?" Pink Diamond asks directly, although it seemed inappropriate to Pearl to be that direct, she couldn't change her wife. For Steven, asking Lapis about prison didn't make sense, so he hadn't focused on that.

"It is very good to see that you are well, Pink Diamond" Lapis greets in response, receiving a smile from the pink gem "I came from The Mirror, they locked me there during the civil war. I see that in the end we won" The gem of the ocean sentence, suddenly Pearl and Pink Diamond are staring at Lapis. She was indifferent to those looks, while Steven was curious.

"From The Mirror? Ohh and ... a long sentence, from what I see" Pink Diamond declares a little awkward, she sits at the table, in the chair in front of Pearl, whose jaw was tightly clenched.

"I don't know much about prisons. What's so special about The Mirror?" Steven asks as he heads to sit calmly. Pearl and Pink Diamond did not want to talk, their son could see that by simply looking at them and their small gestures, that particularly bothered him, it meant that they kept secrets.

"Nothing particular, it is gray and metal. Built by Bismuths" Lapis mentions calm. She did not lie, technically.


	5. I invented a type of crime

Steven, Pink Diamond and Pearl eat at their table while Lapis waited on the couch, the theme of the blue gem and her stay in The Mirror's prison had not been brought back in the minutes in which no one spoke "... So what happened to Rose Quartz? " Lapis finally asks curiously, the hybrid looks mockingly as Pink almost seems to choke on her food, while her mom stops dead.

"She? Well ... she was killed in battle. The rebellion fell about a hundred and fifty years later" Pink Diamond responds with joy, the blue gem for her part smiles cheerfully, showing her fangs although Steven could not see that, for Lapis it was good news "I ... thank you very much for your service Lapis Lazuli" The pink gem sentence with a smile.

"Service?" Steven asks in dismay, Pink grimaces and signals his son, telling the hybrid not to speak. Steven just frowns at his mother before he eats his plate again.

"I help your mother in the war against Rose Quartz" Lapis exclaims calmly, surprising Steven, who turns to see the blue gem that greets him calmly. The hybrid was impressed, he had heard a lot about the civil war of the gems in his history classes, Pink and Pearl had been involved but he doesn't usually ask about that issue since they didn't usually answer him either. Pearl does not take long to use her leg to turn the hybrid chair back in a _proper direction_ , since the white gem sees her son's behavior as inappropriate.

"That's true, but your methods were ... unacceptable, Lapis" Pink Diamond condemns with an apparent attempt at reconciliation "I know who you are because you are the only gem of your kind that was locked in The Mirror" The pink gem emphasizes, which, to the surprise of Pink Diamond, a smile forms on the face of the blue gem. Pearl notices this gesture, but she says nothing against Lapis, she just finishes her meal with the rest of her family while wondering when Peridot would arrive.

"But we won. I don't think I committed a crime then." The gem of the ocean emphasizes simply, while Pearl put the table together, she and Pink Diamond make a face that Lapis doesn't see, but Steven does. The hybrid sighs as he gets up from the table and a small smile on his face forms when he sees the expression of his mothers when he sits with the gem of the ocean.

******

**[23:45]**

When Lapis had arrived it was barely getting dark, now it was night and the blue gem was still at Pink Diamond's house "Peridot's path was complicated, she says she won't be able to come" Steven mentions after finishing his second call with the green gem "Do you mind sleeping here Lapis?" The hybrid offers without even asking their mothers, Pearl was about to speak "She doesn't have the keys to Peridot's apartment" Steven mentions before the white gem says anything.

"But I don't sleep" Lapis responds innocently, to which the hybrid rolls his eyes.

"I say if you want to stay here at night," Steven explains calmly, the blue gem's pupils widen and she nods. Pink Diamond takes Pearl from the living room, although the white gem protests, they both enter the pink hall of the temple, behind a metal door at the back of the house.

"I can't believe your mother is Pink Diamond, you're an elite gem, Steven." The gem of the ocean exclaims with emotion to Steven, he goes up to his room without giving much importance to that subject. The hybrid throws a blanket next to her bed, Lapis throws herself on the bed before Steven can say something "I like it here" The blue gem emphasizes childishly.

"Okay, but give me the pillows" The hybrid sentence taking the pillows from his bed while lying on the floor, Lapis looks at Steven from above with a small innocent mockery. The hybrid gives a small smile "Lapis. Why did they lock you up? Sorry if you don't want to talk about it, but it seems that Mom is very worried. It's normal in her but I'm curious because Pink also seems worried." Steven asks curiously.

"Do you know Atlantis?" Lapis asks with curiosity, the hybrid nods with obviousness to such a question "I sank it" The gem of the ocean explains calmly "Then I was a military, we received information from a breach in the defenses of the rebel island. I seized the opportunity and destroyed the island, with gems and humans included" Lapis exclaims, she hopes to see the reaction the hybrid.

"Only that? Did you sink an island with all its inhabitants, even if they were innocent?" Steven asks, he was not surprised. A smile forms on the face of the ocean's gem.

"You're someone weird Steven. Aren't you scared? War crimes and The Mirror exist because of me" Lapis remarks calmly, the hybrid sighs.

"My aunts were dictators, the gem that gave birth to me was a dictator, my mother insults my father, and Lapis ... you would not be the first gem I know who committed war crimes, nothing you do can scare me" Steven exclaims calmly and proudly, the gem of the ocean looks at him a few moments. Lapis takes Steven's hand and she sticks out her viperine tongue "No!" The hybrid screams terrified.

"Nothing I can do scares you?" The gem of the ocean smiles, Steven blushes in shame.

"Nothing from your past can scare me" The hybrid is quick to ensure while Lapis laughed.

"That's bizarre, Steven" The blue gem mentions while watching Steven, he just nods. Then Steven sits on the blanket on the floor and pulls out his cell phone, Lapis sees how the hybrid unlocks the device.

"Do you want to see some videos?" Steven offers with joy.

"What is a video?" The gem of the ocean asks curiously, while she watches the hybrid put some videos. The first time Lapis saw something like that, things like that didn't exist when she was free, in a short time if there had been someone in the house, this person could hear the loud laughter of the ocean gem and Steven.

When Pearl leaves the temple, she precisely listens to the laughter of Lapis and those of her son, the white gem moves stealthily to watch from Steven's distance along with the blue gem, for now there was no problem, but Pearl was very attentive to any movement Lapis made near the hybrid.

******

**[Meanwhile, with Peridot]**

The green gem was walking through Beach City, generally that is not a problem but while Peridot walks in front of a bar, suddenly the door opens and the person who opened the door recognizes her "Peridot!" A loud voice exclaims, when the green gem turns to look, she becomes paralyzed.

"Jasper!" Peridot certainly exclaims terrified, the orange gem was intoxicated and she had Steven's father "What are you doing here? ... Is that Steven's father?" The green gem asks terrified and surprised, while Jasper and Greg approach walking as good as two drunks can.

"Oh? This guy?" Jasper exclaims laughing "I found him sad and drinking, so I joined him" The orange gem sentence, the human seems not very capable of speaking in his state and nods with a small laugh. Jasper was a big gem in size and strength, orange, she wore a black leather jacket over a white shirt, brown pants and leather boots, at that time she was not wearing her orange helmet, but Peridot could see that outside the bar there's Jasper's motorcycle.

"It's good to see you Jasper of course, but I have to" The green gem exclaims, before the big orange gem's hand is over her shoulder. Jasper drags Peridot and puts the green gem to the bar.

"You will love this guy like me, he knows how to play very well" The orange gem sentences as she sits Peridot and Greg on some stools and brings a guitar to the human. Peridot is trapped with Jasper and Greg in a bar until the next day.


	6. Chapter 6

It was already night, Lapis moves to the night table where Steven's cell phone was charging, the ocean gem had seen the hybrid unlock the cell phone and she quickly mimicked the password, activating the device. Lapis prepares to watch videos while Steven sleeps, the hybrid barely moves despite the sounds of the videos.

"Steven, you should be sleeping not watching videos in the morning," Pearl exclaims as she leaves her room, the mother does it just to see the blue gem with her son's cell phone. The looks of the white gem and Lapis meet for a few moments, the blue gem stares at Pearl and leaves the cell phone again on the table as if nothing. Then Lapis goes on to stare at Steven.

Pearl stays still, she used to watch the hybrid sleep attentively, but now the white gem watches over the ocean gem. The worried mother wanted to make sure that nothing will happen to Steven, so it was fine since Lapis did not speak to Pearl, but then the hybrid's phone vibrates, the call belonged to Peridot, and before the white gem will rush to silence the phone call, Lapis throws the cell phone on Steven, also pulling the charger.

"What's going on?" The hybrid asks sleepy, he wakes up by the blow of the cell phone and the charger although this has not caused any damage "Peridot?" Steven exclaims with his eyes open as he answers the call, which the hybrid calls out because he wants to hear well. Steven still didn't notice that Pearl and Lapis were by his side.

"Steven! Listen, I need help. I'm in a bar with Jasper and your father, I think they need someone to take us home" Peridot exclaims quickly at the reception of a surprised Steven, who wakes up completely due to the gem's comment regarding the father of the hybrid.

"Dad is in a bar ?!" Steven asks stunned, Pearl sighs in annoyance at such a scenario.

"Yes, you dad, Jasper and I are in a bar Steven, please come get me" Peridot asks quickly cutting the call, she then sends an image of an internet map that marks her position. The hybrid looks up, finding its mother's disappointment.

"You're not going there" Pearl exclaims quickly to Steven, the white gem uses her hand to order the hybrid to hand over the phone. Steven quickly denies as the white gem approaches him, drops of sweat come down the forehead of the hybrid while Lapis watches everything.

"Mom, I love you so much. Please. Wouldn't you hurt me, would you?" Steven says innocently directed towards his mother, suddenly the hybrid's eyes turned pink and black diamonds appeared inside them. At the mention of doing something to his son, Pearl is startled, but at this suddenly Pearl's eyes stare steadily into Steven's eyes "I love you mom. What do you think if you let me out? Oh, and please, no you mention this to anyone "The hybrid jokingly orders.

The white gem nods "Of course" Pearl sentences with an apparent smile, going away from Steven's room, the hybrid sighs. The eyes of the hybrid return to normal, and it rises to go for the keys of the house and open the door, the blue gem follows from behind.

"What was that?" Lapis asks surprised while Steven begins to float, the hybrid had his cell phone in hand seeing the map sent by Peridot. The gem of the ocean spreads its wings to follow the hybrid through the night sky, although the human teenager did not really want to talk about that power.

"It's just a bit of the old Universe charm with the voice command of the Diamonds. My personal brand" Steven exclaims impassively as he increases the speed, his father wasn't that far either.

"You are much more than you appear Steven" Lapis exclaims while laughing, Steven listens surprised the loud laugh of the gem of the ocean but he continued with his goal "A race ?!" Lapis offers, she advances the hybrid without much difficulty, although the problem was that the blue gem did not have a set course.

"I don't have time Lapis!" Steven responds promptly while he follows the right course, Lapis rolls his eyes and remains bored at the hybrid. But suddenly Steven is deconcentrated when Lapis in full flight imitates the sound of a fart, she causes a laugh in the hybrid that by mistake due to her emotion rises and suddenly collides with a flock of birds.

The blue gem sees Steven fall and she rushes to save the hybrid, Lapis soon takes Steven in her arms and fortunately she manages to take a curve that allows them to descend. Then the hybrid phone rings, looking up at the gem of the ocean and Steven observes how they were in front of a bar with the lights on "Is this a bar?" Lapis asks the hybrid curious.

"Yes" The hybrid responds "Lapis. You are on probation, aren't you?" Steven asks before approaching that place.

"Yes. I can't get in trouble, for now. All yours" The gem of the ocean approaches as she gestures to present the door to the hybrid, Steven gestures to Lapis to stay there while he enters the bar.

That place seemed uneasy, not because of drunken humans and gems, which were already a problem in itself, but because in all the scandal of screams and objects being thrown, two things stood out before Steven. One, there was a gigantic mass of white hair lying on the ground, a gem that the hybrid identifies as Jasper and two, Greg on a stool with a knife pointed at his neck.

Steven is surprised by this, the owner of the knife however was a known, a Ruby nicknamed Eyeball, nickname given by the hybrid years ago, the only thing that prevented the small red gem stabbing the human adult, was that Peridot struggles with Eyeball for the knife.

Fortunately for the hybrid, no one had noticed yet, a grimace of anger forms on Steven's face when he takes Eyeball by the arm "Who ?!" The red gem asks furiously, then she turns to see the hybrid "Steven Universe! In person" Eyeball celebrates while trying to break free and stab the hybrid.

But then the red gem notes that it was impossible, the arm of the hybrid was still tightly squeezing the physical form of Eyeball, the red arm was bending more and more and more, until finally Steven throws Eyeball on the ground. The hybrid begins to step on the Ruby, Eyeball tried to stab Steven's foot, but only breaks the sandals he wore, the knife splintered against the skin of the hybrid.

Another stomp and the physical form of Eyeball is destroyed. Steven admires the red gem for a few minutes, he simply kicks it, sending the Ruby out of the bar, through a window "... Peridot, Dad" Steven greets without much interest, he turns to see the tearful green gem and Greg.

"Steven!" Peridot jumps excitedly to hug the hybrid, while this without much effort helped his father to get up. Greg looked at the floor while Steven took him out of that bar, nobody paid attention to Jasper who was still unconscious after drinking a lot that night.

"What is this?" Lapis asks excitedly while a bottle with alcohol rolled out, accompanying the trio. Steven does not take long to remove the beer from the hands of the blue gem, and he throws the bottle as far as possible, the bottle is lost on the horizon "That was rude" Lapis says to the hybrid with tranquility, Steven just sighs.

"Dad" Steven ignores the blue gem as they walked to the car wash or actually anywhere else, the hybrid tries to speak but finally Greg takes a step forward on his own.

"Steven, I'm sorry, son. But I don't want to talk about this, you know, I don't think you should see me like this." Greg laments regretfully, Steven closes his eyes for a moment, then the hybrid approaches his father again.

"Dad, seriously. You're drunk, let me take you to the car wash," Steven orders seriously, but when he approaches Greg kindly moves him away, the adult goes at his own pace, while leaving his son behind. The teeth of the hybrid grind "Dad!" The hybrid calls once again, furious, its skin takes on a pink hue and the ground breaks beneath it "Come here!"

"Steven, calm down" Lapis tells Steven indifferently, but when the blue gem tries to place her arm around the neck of the hybrid, Steven quickly pulls it out, the strength of the hybrid was a little different than the other times "Hey, do you want play something, Steven? " Lapis asks smiling, then she puts her hands on Steven's shoulders and starts pushing him.

"Lapis!" Peridot calls worried, but the hybrid does not fall despite the strength of Lapis, he corresponds the gesture and begins to push the gem of the ocean in a kind of scrum. Steven and Lapis tried to tear each other down, but the pressure they both exerted began to break the ground under their feet, generating a scream between them.

"Steven. What makes you so mad that your father goes to a bar? It doesn't seem so bad." Lapis talks to the hybrid as they kept pushing, even though some drops of sweat fell down the face of the ocean's gem, she He kept a smile directed at the hybrid.

"I don't care that he went to a bar! I care what Mom will say, this is just another reason for her to call him a loser. He's not a drunk!" Steven complains, for a few moments at last the hybrid begins to falter in his strength, but his face was still annoying, he was sweating even more than Lapis.

"And why does that matter to you?" Lapis asks curiously, then the gem of the ocean imitates again the sound of a fart. Steven stops for a few moments, the hybrid is thrown to the ground by Lapis, they both completely ignored the crack they had created while Steven laughed at the farting sounds that the ocean's gem makes.

"... Is that only necessary to make Steven laugh?" Peridot inquires surprised and terrified by her two friends.

*******

**[A few moments later]**

"Peridot, if it doesn't bother you. I'm going to stay here tonight," Steven says as he throws himself back in the hammock of the green gem's apartment, Peridot doesn't give much importance to the subject and she takes a few books from her gem that she stacks .

"For you Lapis! Everything you need to know about history, science, politics and more in 5000 years" Peridot mentions excited, but realizes that Lapis ignores her and goes to where the hybrid is.

"Steven. You didn't answer my question, you laugh a lot at fart sounds. Why do you care if I say a Pearl?" The blue gem exclaims curiously towards the hybrid, which sighs exhausted.

"It's not **_a_** Pearl, it's **_my_** mom. And on the other hand Greg is my dad, he's the best person in the world that I know, he's been there to support me. I don't tolerate insults to my dad, because he's not a loser, he may live in a van, he may work in a car wash, he may be a failed musician. But he is not a loser "Steven seriously sentences as he addresses Lapis.

The blue gem is limited to sticking out her tongue a little while she nods, she understood what the hybrid was talking about, so Lapis goes to read the books that Peridot had brought, although occasionally she will need help with some words.


	7. Going with some friends

"Steven ..." Lapis catches the attention of the sleepy hybrid, the ocean gem had awakened Steven a few moments ago to ask a few words but now Lapis was addressing the hybrid with other intentions "I have a question" The blue gem exclaims with tranquility, while the hybrid growls a little.

"What word is it now?" Steven asks curiously while rubbing his forehead.

"It's not a word, it's a personal question" Lapis sentences indifferently, to which the hybrid frowns, he tries to prepare himself for what was to ask the gem of the ocean "... Are you a virgin?" Lapis exclaims curiously, to which Steven spits all the saliva from his mouth, because he almost drowns in surprise.

"Yes!" The hybrid exclaims with obviousness, on the other hand the look of the blue gem is of great confusion.

"How? You have the power to control gems, you're rich, your mother is one of the most important gems for the gem society. You have everything to succeed and you're still a virgin!" Lapis claims surprised while making fun of Steven, the hybrid falls from the hammock of Peridot only to go to the chairs and throw the pillows against the blue gem.

"Lapis, that's not how things work! First of all I would never take advantage of who Pink was, secondly I don't use my material attributes and thirdly. That's not how my power works! I have to have an emotional connection with the gem and use certain keywords that activate they subconscious to control them. But I would never use it that way, pervert! " Steven complains quickly, the shouts and teasing wake Peridot, who attends from her room to see what happened.

The momentary discussion stops "... At least you watch porn, don't you?" Lapis continues to laugh while addressing Steven, the hybrid for its part also quickly refuses.

"Steven, if you continue like this you will only make her make fun of you more" Peridot mentions with her eyes half-open as she watches the hybrid and the gem of the ocean, at some point Steven starts laughing again because of Lapis "I don't understand as you two interact, but please. It's 5 in the morning! " The green gem complains, she attracts the duo's attention again.

Steven then nods "Sorry Peridot" The hybrid exclaims.

"No, not really," Lapis adds indifferently, while Steven tries to make the blue gem apologize. Peridot just goes back to her room, letting her two companions talk until the hybrid decides to fall asleep.

"Ahhh" Steven then sighs, he tries to lie down in the hammock "If someone hits and it's about my mother, or Pink. Don't open" The hybrid kindly asks Lapis while she returned to her books, the blue gem is curious about the comment.

"How can I know if it's your mother if I don't open the door?" Lapis questions with surprise.

"Oh, believe me. She will scream a lot if she comes here" Steven exclaims seriously, he seems quite tired and prepared, while the blue gem simply sees everything with indifference, so Lapis nods at the request of the hybrid. It was almost six in the morning, so Steven closes his eyes with a smile.

Then they start to hear loud knocks on the door "Steven!" Pearl screams from outside, causing an annoyed hybrid to open his eyes, the gem of the ocean looks at Steven and he goes to the window.

"Do you accompany me?" The hybrid whispers as he leaves through the window frame. The blue gem is already behind him.

"Sure." Lapis smiles as she jumps against the hybrid, then they both fall from the 25th floor of The Barn. Fortunately they both left there, with the blue gem flying and Steven floating, they quickly get to the ground, so they start running through the streets, Lapis laughs a little at Pearl while Steven is more focused on leaving there.

"Where we go?" The blue gem asks excitedly while running next to the hybrid, which he doesn't know what to answer. Steven slows down as he begins to walk alongside Lapis, the blue gem is interested in many of the things that are seen around, to pity the hybrid "What is this ?!" Lapis exclaims surprised when she finds Steven-shaped watermelons doing exercises in a square.

"They are Steven Watermelons, I created them by mistake once. I sold them and they spread like hot bread, but they are sentient beings so I stop eating watermelon ever since" The hybrid explains calmly, the watermelons greet him but then the gem of the ocean grabs one of the humanoid watermelons "... Lapis, I know what you want to do. No," Steven rushes, but it was too late for the hybrid to prevent Lapis from devouring one of the watermelons.

The others run away while the ocean gem tastes the inside of the watermelon "... I didn't like it" Lapis adds throwing the rest of the watermelon through the sand of the in the square "Wasn't that a crime, was it? I didn't read anything talking about humanoid watermelons in the laws of the city "The blue gem asks with curiosity.

"No, but throwing garbage can be considered a crime" Steven mentions a little sweat on his forehead while he gathers the corpse of the humanoid watermelon and throws it away "You know Lapis, since you've been reading a little. What Do you think if we are going somewhere? You know, maybe look for a job, some activity or try some normal experiences "The hybrid offers while Lapis cleans watermelon juice from his face using his clothes.

"Yes! I like that idea" The blue gem exclaims excitedly "Can we go to the beach?" Lapis asks, but for his part Steven denies "But I want to go to the beach" The blue gem claims.

"I remind you that my house is on the beach and you can visit me at any time, let's go elsewhere. Beach City is full of opportunities" The hybrid exclaims obviously, while Lapis inflated his cheeks "Look. What do you think if we are going to watch a movie together with my horror movie club? " Steven offers, drawing the attention of the blue gem.

"Okay" Lapis accepts as the hybrid begins to head towards the house of some old friends. When Steven knocks on the door of a small rented house, Ronaldo Fryman opens the door.

"Steven!" The blond-haired human greets with joy, while behind Ronaldo there are some grunts of someone waking up in annoyance "How are you?" Ronaldo exclaims calmly.

"Well, hey Ronaldo, I brought a new friend. We want to see some movies" Steven replies while introducing Lapis to the blond boy, who lets the duo in. Lars on the other hand wakes up after sleeping, the redhead is not very happy to see Steven or one of his friends so early.

"I'm going to cook something. Don't yell a lot," Lars mentions while Ronaldo, Steven and Lapis sit on the couch. While the blond is selecting movies and talking a little with Steven, the ocean gem pays more attention to the covers of the movies, that would be something interesting, for her at least.

When Ronaldo finally places a movie, Lapis's eyes widen to see the beginning with great interest. Ronaldo had to attend to other things related to his work so he left quickly, while Steven was still falling asleep, but the excited gem of the ocean kept him awake.

******

**[Two hours later]**

The movie was over with shouts from the hybrid while Lapis is silent "... I didn't understand, everyone died except the final girl and the monster" The blue gem exclaims curiously, to which Steven nods "What kind of final is that? " Lapis asks the hybrid curiously.

"The kind of open end that allows companies to get sequels," Steven explains as he pulls out part two and part ten of the movie saga into a box. "And what did you think of the movie?" The hybrid asks.

The blue gem thinks for a few moments "It was an entertaining story. Was that real?" Lapis exclaims calmly, to which Steven while laughing denies "So why did they record all that?" The gem inquires puzzled.

"Just for entertainment," Steven responds indifferently as he gets up to take the movie, meanwhile Lapis is still sitting on the couch. Lars finally leaves the kitchen with a cake, which attracts the attention of the blue gem when the redhead places the orange pumpkin-shaped cake on the table. Then Lars is going to clean his hands without saying anything, so Lapis innocently crushes the cake with her hand, she feels the soft, creamy and somewhat sticky texture in her hand, she doesn't like that feeling.

The blue gem proceeds to take the plate and leave it under the table, just when Steven finishes storing the film in the box "Are we leaving?" Steven kindly exclaims, to which Lapis nods with a smile, she keeps her hand behind her back, although it was a bit strange for the hybrid, the gems used to be weird "Bye Lars!" The hybrid says goodbye while going next to the blue gem.

"Steven, look at that" Lapis catches Steven's attention, who turns to see the direction in which the free hand of the ocean's gem points. But then Lapis passes the leftover cake down Steven's neck "Haha!" The blue gem exclaims with a laugh as it runs.

"Lapis!" The hybrid exclaims surprised and a bit annoyed while chasing Lapis, while in turn he has to clean the back of his neck "Where did you get this ?!" Steven exclaims when he realizes that it was cake, only to hear from far away the cries of Lars "Oh ..." The hybrid sentence, a small laugh also comes out of him "No Steven, you do not laugh at the misfortune of others" Steven mutters while still chasing Lapis, who also keeps laughing.

The hybrid and the blue gem end up on the side of the road, in that neighborhood the houses were smaller, and a small creek fed a vegetation of grassland, flowers and shrubs "I had no fun since I was with some of my cellmates , or even in the army "Lapis mentions happily.

"Why? How could you have fun in prison or in the middle of a war?" Steven asks a little surprised, although it was obvious to the blue gem.

"Steven, the prisoners and the soldiers are also people. We get bored, and we look for ways not to get bored. You know, jokes, games, cards, and all kinds of things," Lapis explains calmly, a surprised hybrid nods. Quickly he understands what the blue gem wants to explain.

"What did you do to have fun?" Steven asks curiously, Lapis signals the hybrid to bring his face closer. When Steven gets a little closer then the blue gem, which had its mouth shut, throws a jet of water from its mouth, surprising the hybrid.

"I can gather water from the atmosphere around any part of my body, it is very useful. Especially to shoot water jets, I used to make water wars, clones, bubbles, whatever I could imagine" Lapis exclaims as Steven dries the water from his face, just to throw drops at the gem with his hands "Oh? Do you want to play?" Lapis laughs while creating a water ball in her hands, the hybrid begins to run but the creek next to them is diverted by the action of the ocean's gem and Steven receives a wave.

"Hey, this is not fair!" The wet hybrid exclaims as he laughs and expels some water from his mouth, to which Lapis uses his fingers as guns and continues to shoot water jets at Steven "Now look what I can do" The hybrid declares as he stands up, attracting the Ocean gem attention.

Suddenly Steven puts his hand on a bush, and a large watermelon quickly emerges, the hybrid takes it and takes a bite, just to jump, Steven turns and from his mouth shoots hundreds of seeds while he is in the air , covering the whole place with seeds.

"...That was great!" Lapis exclaims after opening her eyelids full of watermelon seeds.

"My dad once named me king of watermelons, I can shoot seeds doing almost any trick." The hybrid boasts proudly, while the ocean's gem puts seeds in her mouth trying to mimic Steven's trick. Just to find that shooting seeds was harder than it seemed. Lapis began to practice taking the watermelon from the hands of the hybrid, while Steven just watched with a sideways smile.

There was a quiet silence in that little place, until suddenly a gigantic pink mane gets on Steven, attracting the attention of the hybrid and the gem of the ocean. It was Lion, who makes a roar as a greeting to his owner who comes out of the animal's mane "How adorable!" Lapis exclaims before Steven or Lion did something, resulting in the blue gem lifting the animal, she is very excited.

"It's my pet, his name is Lion" The hybrid explains a little surprised to see Lapis pamper the animal, which tries to resist, but unfortunately he was weaker than the blue gem.

"Seriously?" Lapis asks surprised and with star-shaped eyes, a quiet Steven nods "Let's play with him!" The blue gem exclaims with joy as she throws Lion over Steven.


	8. Are you able to care for a sunflower? (Part 1)

Lapis threw a stick near Lion, but the pink animal does not move an inch "Is he dead?" The blue gem asks Steven curiously, he was the owner of the animal, the hybrid seems to think for a few moments but after approaching to hear Leon's heartbeat, Steven returns to answer Lapis.

"No, his heart beats ... very slow. I never noticed that, if I'm sincere. But I think Lion is not in the mood to play" The hybrid exclaims calmly, until he sees the ocean's gem take the animal by the tail "Lapis, no!" Steven screams quickly before the pink animal does something, but Lion is quickly immobilized by Lapis, she pampers the animal with too much affection.

"It's too adorable!" The blue gem emphasizes, a few drops of sweat fall down Steven's forehead while Lion tried to let go, even if it was in vain "Where did you get it?" Lapis asks the hybrid excitedly.

"My mother brought him on a trip to Africa, I still don't know why Lion is pink" Steven explains calmly while he caresses the head of the pink animal, Lion just huffs a little. Then Steven notices Lapis's hand on his shoulder, the hybrid knows that the ocean's gem look only means one thing.

"Can I have my own pet?" Lapis exalted question.

"I don't know. Can you?" The hybrid sentence seriously, it was not his business to know if the blue gem was capable or not, there was no law or condition that prohibited Lapis from taking care of animals.

"That's why I ask you, I don't know if I can" Lapis sentences indifferently as she goes down to Lion, the pink animal sighs and quickly gives Steven a friendly little header.

"Wait a few moments" The hybrid says, before leaving his cell phone with lost calls in the mane of Lion, through a small beam of light "You can go friend, see you at home" Steven says goodbye to his pet after giving him some little pampering. The big cat snorts again and leaves quickly "Let's see if you can be responsible with another living being, I have a test" The hybrid is heading towards the blue gem, which applauds excitedly.

The duo takes a small street towards a market, only for Steven to buy a pot, a shovel, a watering can and some sunflower seeds. "So. Do I have to make a sunflower grow?" Lapis asks curiously, to which the hybrid nods while using the small shovel to remove some soil and put it in the pot.

"Exactly, even a child can make a sunflower grow a little. Caring for a plant is a bit different from caring for a pet animal, but it can help you check the bases," Steven explains while burying a sunflower seed, which delivers to the ocean gem along with the watering can.

"Ok" Lapis accepts with a smile she uses her finger as a watering can, the hybrid feels a bit silly to buy a watering can but the gem of the ocean likes that little garden tool. Then Steven sees how Lapis does not stop watering the seed.

"Lapis, the seed will rot if you keep watering it" The hybrid explains, surprising the blue gem. In the end, caring for a plant would be more complicated than Steven thought.

******

**[A few hours later]**

Lapis is looking at her pot, she is still. The hybrid on the other hand is next to her "... Plants are like gems, they need sunlight. But plants also need water and some nutrients from the soil" Steven reminds to explains to the blue gem, she only nods.

"... His name is going to be Lapis 2" Lapis finally sentences, to the surprise of the hybrid. On the face of the ocean gem there is a smile as she hugs the pot with the little sunflower seed, there is a small smile of tenderness in Steven.

"... My mother is going to kill me after this." The hybrid mentions sighing while walking in another direction, accompanied by Lapis.

"That's illegal." The gem of the ocean exclaims surprised, Steven makes a small laugh.

"It's just a Lapis saying" The hybrid exclaims "My mom would never hurt me" Steven says confidently, but suddenly Pink Diamond appears in the corner of the street, she looks at the gem of the ocean and the hybrid. Lapis just greets while Steven rolls his eyes, he's upset.

"To the car. Now" Pink Diamond asks, she is serious and her son is not long in getting up.

"Can you take me?" Lapis kindly asks, the blue gem has a smile although the diamond gives a small jump of fright. Pink Diamond nods with a small smile, which is wrong counting the small drop of sweat on her forehead.

The diamond drives, she starts to take the hybrid and Lapis "... You hurt your mother, you controlled her and you ran away from her. Twice" Pink Diamond recriminates, she doesn't look at Steven but the hybrid knows well that the Diamond speaks to him. Steven lets out a small growl "Don't growl Steven" Pink Diamond orders.

"Sorry, it's just that it's hypocrital of you. I wouldn't be the first person to control her. Or would I be?" Steven exclaims indifferently, suddenly the diamond stops dry, some dirt from the pot falls down the floor of the car, to the annoyance of the blue gem that brings the earth together with difficulty.

"No, Steven. No matter what I did, what you did is wrong" Pink Diamond recriminates, a certain pink aura covers her but a smile forms on Steven's face, then the diamond understands that there are people not far from there , she takes a deep breath and calms down. Suddenly a small stem comes out of the pot, to Lapis' surprise "We speak at home"

"No, I think there is nothing to talk about" The hybrid claims calmly, this time it is Pink Diamond who throws a small growl into the air. Before Steven makes a comment, the ocean's gem fingers touch his shoulder.

"Look at Lapis 2" Lapis calls excitedly, showing her pot to the hybrid.

"Very pretty" Steven points out without much interest, even though the plant had grown so quickly. Lapis is very excited about the plant. Pink soon arrives at The Barn, although she respects the traffic laws "Goodbye, take good care of Lapis 2" Steven says goodbye happily to the gem of the ocean, which corresponds to the gesture while flying to the department of peridot.

"Peridot!" Lapis calls excited, she almost crashes into the window. The green gem jumps out of fright, she was in a kind of pillow fort "What are you doing?" The blue gem asks curious to see Peridot's pillow fort.

"Oh thank God you're here! Where the hell did you two go ?! They left me with Pearl!" The green gem exclaims in fear, to which Lapis places Lapis 2 in front of Peridot "What is that?" The green gem asks with curiosity.

"It's Lapis 2, she's a sunflower. Steven gave me the task of taking care of her" Lapis proudly exclaims the little sunflower, she leaves the pot in the kitchen, next to the water tap.

"Lapis, plants don't have a definite sexual gender pronoun. Well, actually they do, but most have both genders," Peridot exclaims indifferently.

"How do they reproduce then?" Lapis asks curiously, to which the green gem points to one of the books that the ocean gem had not yet read, attracting Lapis' curiosity.

"They need some help from pollinators from time to time but in general, one plant fertilizes another using different systems. It's not like gems or humans, you know. Gems can put a part of their energy in a geode and create a new individual with one or more parental gems involved, we can make budding or partitioning. In the case of Pink Diamond and Steven's father they performed an animal intercourse, sexual interplay of gametes. Things like that "Peridot sentence explaining excitedly, not for what she described, but the green gem likes to teach.

"Yes, Peridot, I know what sex is" Lapis indifferently, shaming Peridot a little. Each of the two gems attends to their affairs, the blue gem reads while the green gem tidied up their house and attends an engineering project, but they did not notice that in the pot, Lapis 2 grew more and more.


	9. Are you able to care for a sunflower? (Part 2)

It was already night, Pink Diamond and Steven are facing each other, with Pearl in the middle of mother and son "Steven, what you did was wrong. You are punished without going out for two weeks" The diamond sentence would be serious, however the hybrid quickly denies.

"I didn't do anything wrong! Mom wouldn't have let me go find dad if I didn't use my powers" Steven argues defending himself from Pink's argument, although the two gems quickly look at the hybrid with a bit of annoyance, they are strict .

"Steven, Greg is an adult. He is the only one responsible whether or not he decides to go to a bar to get drunk." The diamond claims, she is serious in her words. "You just have to remember not to follow his example." Pink exclaims without much interest really, but she attracts the look of the hybrid, he looks a bit annoyed.

"Are you implying that Dad is a drunk?" Steven asks seriously, to which the diamond barely moves her shoulders, she does not show many emotions "He is not a drunk, he would not act like this if you two stop calling him a loser" The hybrid exclaims quickly, Pink Diamond just rolls her eyes.

"Oh maybe yes, Steven, I honestly don't know and I don't care either." The diamond says simply, Pink seems about to leave but the white gem stops her.

"Pink, I think it would be a good time to talk a little more with Steven. He left Peridot's apartment with a former convict with barely three days of freedom without saying anything," Pearl exclaims naturally worried, but Steven quickly denies.

"Lapis is not dangerous" The hybrid ensures calmly, but quickly the diamond and her wife deny.

"No, she is very dangerous" Pink exclaims with certainty "And your mother is right, that was also very irresponsible on your part. You do not answer the calls either, I think I should honestly extend your punishment" The diamond exclaims, his fury had Increased at times.

"People change, they locked her five thousand years and she is practically like a little girl. I gave her a sunflower so she will take care and she pampers it like a baby!" Steven exclaims, although a little surprised by the behavior of the aforementioned ocean gem.

"Steven, the gems do not change that way when they are locked up, believe me. Lapis will remain a danger for a long time and it is better that you stay away from her a bit" The diamond explains, she takes her time, stops to think her words and she makes sure they are _**"true"**_ to her son.

The hybrid does not believe anything "... You do not change, the rest yes" Steven exclaims with a growl, attracting the attention of Pearl and Pink.

"Steven!" The white gem calls worried, she tries to talk to her son but the diamond intervenes.

"What did you say?" Pink Diamond exclaims, she stares at the hybrid, which takes a few moments before sighing in front of the diamond.

"You don't change. How many times have you been reelected? You changed the laws hundreds of years ago just to continue governing Beach City! We live in a benevolent dictatorship that pretends to have elections, but there's virtually no opposition. It bothers you that I use my powers in mom, but thousands of years ago you used them with her and you would continue to use them if it wasn't because you won a war "Steven screams, he becomes more and more pink. Pearl tries to put her hands on the shoulders of the hybrid but it is a slap of Pink Diamond that removes Steven's pink aura.

The sound of the slap floods the whole place, it is not as if the hybrid or the diamond were damaged, that was very little force compared to the abilities of both but the gesture had surprised Steven for how sudden it was "... You , don't touch him "Pearl ends, she puts her hand and pushes Pink.

The white gem does not take Steven away from there, she only returns to take Pink to her own room, between the white gem and the diamond there is silence, while Steven rubs the affected area a bit. The hybrid then lies down to sleep, the idea of escaping a few moments from home floated through Steven's head, but he quickly undone it.

******

**[In Peridot's apartment]**

Lapis had almost finished all of Peridot's books, she could read very quickly, although the blue gem probably doesn't keep all the information read, she's fine with that "Lapis 2!" Lapis calls calmly while going to watch the sunflower, suddenly in the kitchen the sunflower had grown exponentially.

The sunflower seems to have compound eyes, its yellow leaves seemed to close forming a functional jaw, and from its stem grew some limbs that the plant uses to open the tap, from which the sunflower feeds "... This is not right" Lapis It does not take in mentioning, she approaches Lapis 2, but the plant then jumps out of her suitcase and runs through the kitchen to the living room.

The plant jumps out the window "No!" Lapis exclaims worried, she spreads her wings and runs to save the sunflower, but it crawled on the walls with its roots "Where are you going ?!" The blue gem asks the plant, she is worried and tries to use her wings to catch Lapis 2 but the plant dodges her.

Suddenly the sunflower spits seeds against Lapis's face, covering it with seeds like Steven had done when spitting watermelon seeds, in those little moments Lapis 2 took the opportunity to take advantage of the blue gem "... Very well Lapis, the only thing that interposes between you and a tender pet, is to recover Lapis 2 "Lapis sentence seriously, the blue gem descends with its wings in search of Lapis 2, she grabs a human who was going over there" Have you seen a sunflower walk by here?" Lapis asks seriously.

"... No" The human responds, he is very scared but the ocean gem only releases him where he was before to continue asking about Lapis 2.

******

**[At Steven's house]**

The hybrid sleeps peacefully, however Lapis 2 runs along the beach heading towards the house, the mutant sunflower crashes against the door, looking for how to enter the house, the plant then resolves to enter crashing against the window and breaking it into pieces, although this wake up Steven "What?" The hybrid exclaims something sleepy when he sees Lapis 2.

The sunflower then jumps to attack Steven, the plant tries to bite the hybrid using its jaw-like leaves, the hands of the hybrid stop the plant's attacks with little effort but he is still a little sleepy, so he simply throws the sunflower at another side "A sunflower?" The hybrid exclaims surprised.

The plant then releases a torrent of seeds in all directions, Steven covers himself using his shield and when Lapis 2 seems to run out of seeds (at the moment), the hybrid throws its shield against the sunflower, however Lapis 2 catches the shield and he throws him back to Steven, punching him in the face.

The sunflower makes a strange mocking sound, but then Steven in a bubble coils the plant like nothing "What are you supposed to be?" The hybrid asks surprised when he undoes his bubble, but in doing so the plant rises again and hits Steven with his limbs, although Steven barely flinches at the blow. Suddenly sunflower seeds begin to grow more sunflowers trying to attack Steven.

The hybrid creates a bubble again while the sunflowers surround it, Steven then creates skewers in his bubble, piercing the mutant sunflowers that still try to hit the bubble to reach the hybrid. Then Lapis also enters through the window "Lapis 2! ... Many Lapis 2 ..." The gem of the ocean exclaims, at the beginning she is cheerful but then Lapis is surprised to see so many sunflowers.

Steven turns inside the bubble, sending sunflowers to fly "Lapis! What happened ?!" The hybrid exclaims surprised, meanwhile the blue gem lifts her shoulders, however, it does not take long to get close to the hybrid, she with a movement of her hands dries out the sunflowers, removing all the water. Withered sunflowers can barely move, and Steven using his bubble overwhelms them, destroying them.

"... There are my opportunities to have a pet" Lapis laments while kicking some of the sunflower remains "Steven, I swear I don't know what happened! I left Lapis 2 in the kitchen and when I came back she had eyes and arms, and things like that "The gem of the ocean explains the hybrid quite confused.

"... I swear it's not the first time that plant beings attack me like this" Steven exclaims annoyed at Lapis' explanation, the hybrid and the blue gem observe the remains for a few moments "I think this is like one of the Steven Watermelons, or mom's sentries ... But why would Lapis 2 become a plant sentry? " Steven sentences curiously, attracting Lapis' attention.

"Where did so many come from? In Peridot's apartment there was only one Lapis 2" The blue gem asks the hybrid, which opens his eyes a little worried.

"She shot me seeds. Lapis 2 did something similar before?" Steven asks, to which Lapis nods "Oh ... I think there will be more Lapis 2 out there" The hybrid mentions, to which the ocean's gem makes a worried face. When the doors of the house open again for a worried Pearl, Steven and Lapis are gone.

*******

A street in Beach City seems infested with mutant sunflowers "Can you get water out of their bodies?" Steven asks, he and Lapis are hiding in trash bins while watching sunflowers take control of the street, throwing seeds and throwing things.

"Of course I can" Lapis exclaims calmly, she goes out with the hybrid of the containers. Steven catches the sunflowers' attention immediately, they jump to attack him but then Lapis using her powers collects all the water from the sunflowers, the blue gem and the hybrid do not take long to start collecting the sunflower remains.

Some people notice the duo's effort, but then Pink Diamond appears, the diamond does not take long to clear the whole place and she gathers the sunflowers together with Lapis and Steven, the gem of the ocean notices how there are no words between mother and son. Just silence "Let's not talk about these sunflowers, Steven. You can stay up until tomorrow if you want," Pink exclaims seriously as she leaves.

"... Do you think she made sunflowers mutate?" Steven exclaims a little surprised.

"When could she have done it?" Lapis mentions with curiosity.

"Maybe when we were in the car, my mother's anger can cause ... things" The hybrid sentences seriously, to which the blue gem is surprised "I'm sorry you'll run out of Lapis 2" Steven mentions, he gives small pats Lapis on the back. The blue gem and the hybrid walk a little while they are going to throw the sunflower remains.

"I was not able to care for a sunflower" Lapis sentences with annoyance.

"Don't worry, I don't think it was your fault" Steven sentences indifferently, they throw all sunflower bodies in a dumpster "Do you want to go eat something? I know a hamburger car that should be open to these hours "The hybrid offers with kindness.

"Yes!" The blue gem accepts with enthusiasm.


	10. I didn't ask her if she wanted to be my friend

Steven and Lapis were on their way to a small car that sold hamburgers, parked in a small square "Go and buy a soda in the corner shop" The hybrid gives the blue gem some dollars and points to the corner, while for his part Steven walks towards the girl who works in the small car. Lapis walks happily to the store to buy, meanwhile the hybrid orders four hamburgers.

The blue gem does not take long to buy a liter bottle and leave the store, seeing Steven sitting, he does not seem to speak but he looks at the girl who works cooking "Steven! Stop flirting!" Lapis screams with a small smile, her call soon attracts the attention of the girl and the hybrid, which quickly denies with a little blushing.

"Just bring the soda!" Steven orders hurriedly, while the ocean gem runs to sit on the next stool. Both friends are silent while they wait for their order to be finished, the girl who works finally gives them the burgers and they both leave. The hybrid burns his hands a little for his two hot burgers.

Lapis looks at the food with interest, before eating as she had done before in the car wash, so she finishes first than Steven, despite being a little calmer, in the end the hybrid is stained more than the blue gem " So? ... How did it go? " Lapis curious question.

"In what? If it has something to do with the girl in the hamburger car, I wasn't flirting," Steven replies as he uses the hamburger napkin to wipe his face and some parts of his clothes.

"With your mother, she didn't seem very happy while we were cleaning the remains of the mutant sunflowers" The blue gem exclaims with some concern, the hybrid would not know if it was for him or for Pink Diamond, it could be for both.

"Oh. Yes, all right, she's a little sensitive. Just that" Steven responds indifferently, a little laugh escapes Lapis "What makes you laugh?" The hybrid asks calmly, to which the gem of the ocean searches for the right words for a few moments, to Steven's surprise.

"... You're right, your ** _aunt_**. Is that the word? Blue Diamond, she cries a lot. Or at least she did it before she entered The Mirror" Lapis answers honestly, to which her little laugh is spread to the hybrid.

"Yes, she keeps doing it" Steven exclaims with a small smile "If it makes you feel comfortable, not all things have changed, Yellow is still an authoritative boss, only now she has several companies, in some ways she is still a dictator. I think the one that has changed the most was White, now she lives in the basement of my house, Amethyst's theory is that she doesn't know how to open the door " The hybrid exclaims, attracting some more laughs from Lapis.

The gem of the ocean sighs as he lies further on the bench where they are both sitting "... Blue Diamond cried in war for the gems that were killed. Why does she cry now?" Lapis asks curiously, Steven imitates the gesture of the blue gem reclining.

"... With joy, she enjoys life very much. Sometimes too much" The hybrid exclaims with a drop of nervousness, he and Lapis open the soda bottle in the meantime, the gem is the first to drink. "Once I tried that she had a date with my dad." Steven exclaims with a small laugh, causing Lapis to be choking on soda, she almost spits all the liquid in her mouth.

"How did that turn out ?!" The blue gem asks laughing.

"It almost turned out, but my dad wasn't interested. They look better as friends." The hybrid sentences while taking the bottle and without much care takes it. The gem of the ocean watches Steven drink and then she squeezes the bottle with her hands, suddenly causing part of the soda to tip over the face of the hybrid "Lapis!" Steven screams a little annoyed quickly stop drinking to avoid getting wet much more.

"Pfffff" The gem of the ocean tries to contain the laughter, she fails and suddenly the hybrid throws soda on her, which Lapis doesn't care about.

"Do you make jokes like that on Peridot?" Steven asks curiously as he shakes his hair to try to dry as quickly as possible.

"I don't make jokes on Peridot, she is not my friend. You are my friend, so I make jokes on you" The blue gem reasons calmly, to the surprise of the hybrid.

"Why is Peridot not your friend? If you live together, it is better that you two get along" Steven exclaims with a little concern, again Lapis' reasoning is put into action.

"I did not ask if she wanted to be my friend, I asked you and you said yes. So you are my friend, Peridot no" The gem of the ocean sentences with indifference, for the hybrid it sounds logical in a certain and strange sense.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Peridot will like you" Steven mentions calmly and a smile on his face, Lapis nods calmly "If I'm honest, I don't have much trouble with your jokes, it's not the worst thing that happened to me with my friends. Just three days after becoming friends with Peridot ... We fought, and it was intense "The hybrid explains with a hint of nostalgia.

"What happened?" The blue gem asks curiously.

"... I don't remember it very well, it happened 2 years ago. But we fought for some reason, I ended up with a rope around my neck and Peridot ended up with some holes in his abdomen. It was quite brutal, but people didn't He knows a lot about it. "Steven explains with a small drop of nerves. Lapis is surprised." Don't tell my mother, Pink or dad. "The hybrid rushes.

"Don't worry Steven, I don't judge the weird sex Peridot and you have" The blue gem exclaims calmly, to which Steven blushes.

"That was not what happened!" The hybrid screams with annoyance, but Lapis just laughs a little and runs her arm around Steven's neck.

"I don't know if I believe you, the thing of a rope around your neck sounds like some weird fetish of yours" The ocean gem exclaims with mockery as Steven denies and laughs "What do you want to do now?" Lapis asks the hybrid curiously.

"It seems that today I have the night off, but it is likely that mom and Pink won't let me out the next few days" Steven exclaims, he passes his hand behind his neck tiredly, meanwhile the blue gem clings to his arm, she shakes him then.

"Why ?! I have no other friends, I will feel very alone" Lapis points out quickly, meanwhile the hybrid is dizzy.

"For all that, I escape from mom, I mentally control my mother and I have not answered calls for a while. But do not worry, surely it helps you to become friends with Peridot" Steven sentences indifferently, once he recovers from the shake of the blue gem.

"If you say so" Lapis sentence, she is not very convinced, the hybrid meanwhile yawns "Do you want to sleep?" The blue gem asks with curiosity, Steven for his part tries to deny but then he is already sleeping on the bench.

******

**[The next morning]**

Steven wakes up in the morning apparently, finding Lapis by his side, she stares at him "Good morning" The gem of the ocean greets the hybrid, he corresponds and gets up, only to fall due to a clumsy movement.

"We started the day well" Steven says a bit sarcastic, meanwhile Lapis smiles and throws himself next to him "He" The hybrid gives a little smile to the blue gem as they get up, Steven planned to go home or accompany Lapis to Peridot's apartment, but while the duo walks they met Jasper.

"Universe" The orange gem greets the hybrid indifferently, who is about to talk to Jasper but then Lapis takes the lead, surprising Steven.

"Jasper! My old friend" The ocean gem greets with excitement, the hybrid is a little confused but the surprise and terror in the orange gem is huge "How are you doing Jasper? I haven't seen you in a while ..." Lapis exclaims, she has her wings spread out and suddenly she is behind Jasper, with her arm around the neck of the orange gem.

"Lapis, it is. It's good to see you free" Jasper greets, but drops of sweat begin to go down her forehead as she tries to look away from the blue gem's eyes, she has her eyes fixed on the orange gem.

"I didn't know you knew each other" Steven exclaims with some surprise watching Lapis and Jasper, attracting the attention of the two gems. An awkward smile forms in Jasper, while a broad smile forms in Lapis.

"Oh, yes, we shared a cell for a few hundreds years. Jasper came out before me." The blue gem explains the hybrid quietly, she is very close to the ear of the orange gem. "How small is the world. Don't you think? You two they also know each other "Lapis exclaims excitedly.

"Yes. Yes, Universe is friends with my ..." Jasper speaks a little nervous, confusing Steven even more, but there was something more important than he wanted to talk about.

"Your sister? Oh, I would be excited to meet her" The blue gem sentences with a smile, Jasper reacts and seems about to talk seriously with Lapis, but quickly that idea gets out of her head when she sees Lapis for a few moments.

"Maybe you would get along with Amethyst, she loves heavy jokes" Steven mentions calmly, the smile on the blue gem is huge, while the orange gem swallows hard "Hey Jasper, I have some questions for you" The hybrid calls Jasper seriously.

"Me too" Lapis adds with happiness, her fingers make some pressure on the orange gem's shoulder.

"... What were you doing with my father in a bar?" Steven asks with a bit of annoyance, for a few moments Jasper does not know what to answer "Jasper" The hybrid calls hurrying the orange gem.

"It was pure coincidence. In fact talking about your father ... I have to give him his wallet, he forgot it" Jasper exclaims a little sorry, suddenly she takes Greg's wallet out of her pocket, surprising Steven, Lapis takes the wallet from the hands of the orange gem, the blue gem is interested in the small object.

"Oh! How nice" Lapis exclaims "Steven. What do you think if Jasper and I are going to hand over your father's wallet? And you're going home" The blue gem offers excitedly, stopping Jasper dry.

The blue gem flies very close to Jasper, the orange gem tries not to speak but she knows well that Lapis is behind her "What are you doing now, Jasper?" The ocean gem asks smiling, its fangs shine near Jasper.

"... I am learning to cook" The orange gem mentions, while a small laugh leaves Lapis.


	11. Lapis and Jasper (part 1)

Jasper walks slowly, many drops of sweat fall from the forehead of the orange gem, there are fewer and fewer people in the street as the duo approaches Greg's car wash, when Jasper briefly passes through an alley, suddenly kick hits her on the side, causing the orange gem to fall against the wall while she is very scared "Jasper! So long, good to see you. Did you miss me?" Lapis exclaims excitedly.

The ocean gem puts its foot on the orange gem's head, pressing hard against the wall "Lapis, please" Jasper implores as her head begins to sink a few inches into the solid brick. The orange gem is grabbed by one of the tufts of her long hair, Lapis the fence and gives a header, which now leaves Jasper on the ground.

"Why are you going to implore me this time? Do you want me to hit you harder?" The blue gem sentences simply, she passes her hand down the spine of the orange gem. Jasper writhes as Lapis fingers dig into her back.

The jaw of the orange gem shakes "We don't have to ... do this Lapis, please, we're just going to hand over the wallet and everyone can go by their side" Jasper exclaims nervously, but then some water chains form around her neck. Barely visible because Jasper's clothes.

"Oh, come on Jasper. You know how we had fun in the cell. Don't you want to spend some time with your old friend Lapis?" The ocean gem sentences quite lively, Lapis lifts the orange gem as if nothing and then she claps Jasper's back hard, the sound even rumbling through the alley while the orange gem is startled.

The blue gem pushes Jasper back into the street, heading for Greg's car wash, the orange gem's feet collide with the sidewalk and occasionally she falls with Lapis " ** _helping_** " Jasper get up.

******

In the car wash, Greg is cleaning a car calmly and diligently "Mr. Steven's dad!" Lapis greets as she runs at high speed dragging Jasper, the ocean gem leaves the orange gem too close to the surprised human "Hello!" Lapis greets with joy.

"Oh, hello Lapis ... Hi. Jasper, right?" Greg greets kindly, stepping back a little and watching the gems duo with a small side smile. A nervous smile is put on Jasper's face, while the blue gem greets with her hand.

"Eh, yes. I'm Jasper" The orange gem introduces herself, she extends her hand to the human, Greg shakes hands with Jasper "Are you better?" The orange gem asks curiously, to Lapis' surprise, Jasper still doesn't talk about the human's wallet.

"Pretty much better, although I have to call my son to talk to him" Greg replies a little calm, but no less worried about his son's condition, the orange gem remains unanswered for a few moments, until for Greg's surprise, Lapis gives Jasper a little elbow in the arm.

"Ah! Here you go, you forgot this" Jasper exclaims hurriedly, she then takes out the human's wallet, which is surprised.

"Thank you!" Greg thanks with joy as he keeps his wallet back, the ocean gem continues to notice the nervous orange gem.

"Take care of yourself, Greg" Jasper sentences amicably, she then slaps the surprised human's shoulder, while the orange gem says goodbye and begins to walk in another direction, Lapis sees a few moments to the sore Greg and she also says goodbye.

The orange gem tries to run, but she already has the ocean gem behind "What's up Jasper?" Lapis asks with a toothy smile from ear to ear.

"Get out of me!" Jasper asks before stopping dry, for a movement of the water chain in her neck, she falls to the ground, finding the face of the blue gem on her face "I'm just a little nervous" Jasper says nervous, she seems to want to hide In her own white hair.

"Why? For me or ...? Don't tell me!" Lapis exclaims mockingly, she then brings her ears to Jasper who seems to murmur.

"It's just that I had a lot of fun at the bar with Greg, nothing more" The orange gem sentences a little awkwardly, she makes the blue gem laugh "I don't see anything funny about that, sometimes I make friends ... I have three" Jasper exclaims a little offended by Lapis laugh.

"I hope to be told on that list" The gem of the ocean exclaims with curiosity, a little sweat falls down the forehead of the orange gem, which Lapis lifts as if she were nothing "What do you think if we have fun? ! Old friend, you and I, like the old days "The blue gem exclaims as she grabs her arm around Jasper's neck.

"No, I think I have plans." The orange gem scratches her neck, feeling the water around, Jasper swallows saliva while Lapis suddenly gives a touch, similar to a twinge on the side of the abdomen.

"Don't be like that Jasper" The ocean gem makes a little pout, apparently she is very childish but Jasper had a sore abdomen from Lapis blow, the orange gem seems to be fine, she doesn't want to not squirm.

"You'll get in trouble, Lapis" Jasper tries to defend herself, but she feels a chill from just the presence of the ocean's gem.

"But you won't betray me" Lapis says with confidence and confidence, she doesn't falter for a moment, the orange gem just shrinks "I guess you have a vehicle. How about taking a ride?" The gem of the ocean exclaims, while Jasper sweats.

"I have a motorcycle" The orange gem exclaims, she receives a small kick in the butt from Lapis, forcing Jasper to take the gem of the ocean in a little trip. In the end the duo is on the streets, driving at high speed, Lapis is excited while moving in the seat, alarming Jasper for the consequent movement of the motorcycle.

The blue gem finally uses its control over the water and forces the orange gem to move sharply, Lapis and Jasper just lying on the side of the road, where there was a large pond in which both fall "... That was a lot of fun! " The ocean gem exclaims excitedly, she leaves the pond as if nothing, while the orange gem retrieves her motorcycle.

Jasper spits some water that she had in her mouth from the fall, not many come to ask about the state of them "I think my motorcycle can still go on" The orange gem exclaims, she shakes her motorcycle and large amounts of water drops go everywhere, Jasper tries to light it "... Peridot knows about this more than me, I will give it to her later" The orange gem growls as she put the motorcycle on her shoulder as if nothing.

"Since we talk about other things. Can we go see your sister?" Lapis asks curiously, she tilts her head and forms a small smile.

"You're not going to put a finger on her ... Are you?" Jasper inquires, she is certainly worried. The blue gem sticks out her tongue for a few moments.

"Since we talk about other things. Can we go see your sister?" Lapis asks curiously, she tilts her head and forms a small smile.

"You're not going to put a finger on her ... Are you?" Jasper inquires, she is certainly worried. The blue gem sticks out his tongue for a few moments.

"Are you calling me a lesbian or are you implying that I will abuse her? Neither, I already have enough kicking your gigantic butt" Lapis sentences calmly while she spreads her wings "Would you make me a cake?" The blue gem practically orders.

"Okay" Jasper accepts, she sighs and walks as she can with her wet clothes. Lapis meanwhile sings a song behind the orange gem.


	12. Lapis and Jasper (part 2)

A song was still playing behind Jasper, unfortunately for the orange gem, that sound came from Lapis, and the ocean gem was not going to stop just because she is bothering Jasper, in fact it is precisely what Lapis wants. The duo of gems is heading to a house of brown and orange tones, but that seemed very flimsy and about to fall at any moment, it even seemed somewhat inclined "... Your house is crap" Lapis says just see that building .

"It's what my sister and I have" Jasper responds indifferently, she lifts her shoulders a little before carefully opening the door, Jasper has to bend down a little to go through the door, and the blue gem takes advantage of that to give a little kick to the orange gem, which causes her to fall down the hall, Lapis even sees the house wobble.

"Jasper! Are you alright?" Amethyst leaves from the kitchen, the little purple gem asks worried about the state of Jasper, who is rising "Hey ... You are the Lapis of Peridot's apartment! How are you?" Amethyst greets with surprise to notice the presence of the gem of the ocean.

"Yes. And you are the Amethyst who was with Steven, he is my friend" The ocean gem mentions, she sees how the purple gem extends her hand, Lapis just stares but fortunately Amethyst understands the situation.

"Don't worry, Jasper had the same problem. Lend me your hand" The purple gem exclaims calmly, Amethyst relaxedly approaches and takes Lapis's hand, showing the blue gem how to shake hands "After this they come the secret greetings, I have one with Steven "Amethyst exclaims.

"Secret greetings?" Lapis asks, she is confused but her eyes are surprised "Can I see?" The blue gem asks excitedly.

"You can talk about that later. Amethyst. What did you do in the kitchen?" Jasper asks a little worried, surprising the purple gem whose gaze deviates a little, Amethyst puts herself against the wall of the hallway and tries to prevent the orange gem from entering the kitchen, but she simply walks, moving her sister as if nothing "What did you do?!" Jasper asks surprised.

Amethyst walks slowly towards the kitchen, with Lapis accompanying the sister duo curiously, the kitchen is dirty and full of burnt food remains "Yep, I tried to cook something to surprise you, since you don't like that your class yesterday was canceled but ... it didn't work "The purple gem exclaims a little sorry, she runs her hand over the back of her neck.

Lapis takes a piece of the " ** _cake_** " burned, she tastes it and suddenly the gem of the ocean feels that something is stirring inside her, Jasper and Amethyst quickly understand what is happening and push Lapis out. The blue gem throws up in front of the door "... What is this?" Lapis asks surprised by the vomit in front of her.

"Don't step on it" Jasper exclaims, but Lapis had already kicked the vomit.

"... Too late" The ocean gem tells the orange gem, she only sighs, now the entrance was a little broken by Lapis's kick, and Lapis's foot is a bit dirty "I don't know what was that, Amethyst, but even I, who have been eating human food for a short time can define that as something ... bad "The blue gem responds without touch, Jasper wanted to say something but she swallows nervously.

"Don't worry Amethyst, I clean it up. I have to cook" The orange gem finally exclaims, she claps the purple gem's shoulder, which causes some pain to the smallest Amethyst, who is going to sit in a chair, though the purple gem takes the opportunity to go to the refrigerator and get a drink.

Lapis just stands still, she watches as Amethyst drinks while Jasper collects the remains of food and garbage, then the purple gem belches "How do you do that?" The gem of the ocean asks surprised, she was confused but shocked, a smile forms on the face of Amethyst, who passes the bottle to Lapis.

Unfortunately for the orange gem, now she had the blue gem and her sister belching one behind the other. Jasper would have liked to ask the two of them to stop, but the orange gem prefers to concentrate on starting to prepare a cake as Lapis had ordered "So Lapis. How are you doing? Peridot and Steven have been busy, but I don't know if with you or with something else "Amethyst mentions with curiosity.

"Steven is friendly, Peridot too. But only Steven is my friend, I have few friends, Steven ... and Jasper, for example" Lapis smiles, her smile widens more and more, until the blue gem ends with the mention of Jasper, the orange gem feels a little shock go through her spine.

"Yes, I wanted to talk about that. It's weird that my sister brings friends home. How did you two meet?" Amethyst asks curiously, Jasper for her part prefers to start cooking immediately.

"We met at The Mirror, we were cellmates" Lapis keeps smiling, then she starts talking to a purple gem, Amethyst is curious because her sister doesn't usually talk about her stay in prison.

"Oh! Yes, I know what you mean. How was Jasper? Wild? I was born after she came in and visits were forbidden" Amethyst exclaims, causing a small laugh from the gem of the ocean, the purple gem is excited

"Not really, she sometimes got into trouble but I wouldn't call her _ **wild**_ " Lapis mentions while continuing to talk with Amethyst, meanwhile Jasper is focusing on the mass.

******

**[Over 5000 years ago]**

Jasper walks with her shackles through the corridors of The Mirror, escorted by a group of Amethysts, the orange gem had already been prosecuted, now the Agates look at her with annoyance, but in reality Jasper cares little about their opinion. After a few moments of walking, finally the orange gem is deposited in his cell, then there is only one companion, Lapis.

Between the blue gem and Jasper there are no words, Lapis looks at his new companion without much interest, his eyes barely watching the orange gem. For his part Jasper does not have much interest in talking with the blue gem, so both are in a continuous silence, until finally an Amethyst comes.

The two gems were taken to a gigantic chamber, along with other prisoners, there were a multitude of corridors in it, whenever a gem entered one, went to another room, then suddenly the gem returned to the main room through the internal mechanism of the camera. This chamber served to provide sunlight to the gems, the Amethysts could barely be seen watching the prisoners, but most of them were calm.

"Hello" Lapis suddenly greets Jasper, the little blue gem (small compared to the other gem) attracts the attention of the orange gem, which corresponds the greeting. Jasper notices how many of the gems look at Lapis, they seem terrified or surprised at the presence of the blue gem.

The orange gem just squeaky, she tries to get away from Lapis by going to one of the halls. Jasper didn't realize that the ocean's gem had followed her, she was very stealthy, and when the doors closed behind them, Lapis's wings were around the orange gem "What do you want?" Jasper asked in dismay, she was arrogant about the blue gem.

"I said hello, I demand respect from you" Lapis sentences simply, she has no elegance or style, but it is serious.

A little laugh comes out of the orange gem, she quickly pulled out her helmet with the intention of hitting Lapis. When Jasper realized, she was already in a giant sphere of water, and felt the closest thing a gem can feel to drowning, with water entering through all its physical form as it drills it. Lapis smiles at the sight of Jasper locked up "I think we'll be good friends, Jasper" The ocean gem mentions.

******

**[Present]**

Jasper felt he was drowning, but his gaze remained fixed in the oven, then the cake was ready, so the orange gem without much difficulty takes it out of there, it looked good, better than Amethyst, even if that wasn't very complicated. Jasper places it on the table and both Amethyst and Lapis jump to devour that dessert.

"I'm going for a walk" The orange gem says a little awkward, she goes down the hall, but Jasper feels like the water chain around her neck tenses, she's terrified.


	13. What is this gem?

While Lapis and Amethyst remain in the house, Jasper had run away as far as possible from there the water around her neck no longer suffocated her, but the feeling of drowning persists in the orange gem's mind. Jasper doesn't know where she is going very well, but anywhere far from Lapis was to a certain extent, a good place, it had even become dark without the orange gem realizing "Maybe I should go to see Peridot" Jasper thinks out loud, but then she realizes that she is not so close.

"Hello again Jasper!" Greg greets from his car wash, the human is eating watermelons sitting in a chair, alone, but Greg is still kind to his acquaintance.

Jasper is silent for a few moments "Hello" The orange gem corresponds to the greeting, there is silence between Jasper and the human, but then she comes up with a few steps "Does it bother you if I accompany you?" The orange gem asks with curiosity, Greg asks for a few moments, there is watermelon in his mouth but the human goes to another chair for the big orange gem.

The chair almost completely bends when Jasper sits "Would you like a watermelon?" Greg offers, but the orange gem denies "Are you feeling well Jasper?" The human asks with curiosity, Greg remembers well the talk in the bar that they had shared, the orange gem had heard Greg, so it made sense for the human to listen to her.

"... I have some problems" Jasper mentions seriously, but she doesn't want to say many words "I know this shouldn't matter to you" The orange gem sentences indifferently, attracting the compassionate gaze of the human, to which Jasper is only a little surprised, she doesn't usually receive those looks from anyone but Amethyst.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Greg asks with some concern, the orange gem seems to think for a few moments. She denies, so the human just nods "Would you like to see a trick?" Greg exclaims calmly, attracting Jasper's curiosity, the human gets up after eating a little more watermelon, he bends down and extends his hand, shooting seeds through his mouth, which take a full turn, falling back into Greg's hand "Ta da!" The human exclaims.

Jasper doesn't know what to say "That was ... well" The orange gem finally mentions, a little surprised, on the other hand Greg doesn't move.

"You help me?" The human asks unable to move, so Jasper rushes to **_"fix"_** Greg's back, although from the sound they both believe something might have broken. Jasper had to take Greg to the hospital.

******

Pink Diamond is in her bed, she reads a book calmly, until Pearl finally arrives, the white gem lies next to the diamond, which reads one last page of her book before leaving it next to the bedside table " Pearl, you've been mad at me for almost two days "Pink exclaims seriously, she turns to see her wife, who turns her head in denial.

"You hit my baby!" Pearl screams annoyingly at the diamond, meanwhile Pink's face remains impassive "Pink, hold on and approve of many of the things you do. But you can't hit Steven" The white gem points, the tips of her fingers hit the chest of the diamond

"Pearl, Steven is 16 years old. He needs discipline, he is crossing the line, we cannot allow his bad image behavior. My security guards had to block an entire block from the city and bribe people to avoid him being photographed sleeping on a bench "Pink argues seriously.

Pearl guard silence, she tries not to look at the diamond "You can't put a finger on my baby and expect me to allow it, even if Steven's behavior is not the most appropriate" The white gem sentence, meanwhile Pink gives a little sigh, the diamond runs her fingers through her own hair.

"Pearl, look at me. It's an order." Pink exclaims, her serene voice and series makes Pearl turn her head almost instantly, moved by the power of the diamond. "What would you do if you had to choose between Steven and me?" Pink Diamond asks, on behalf of Pearl there is no answer but some tears begin to go down her eyes "We are not going to talk about this anymore, forget to hit Steven" The diamond orders, with a snap the mind of the white gem disappears some instants.

Pink lies down to sleep and Pearl regains consciousness "How are you?" The diamond greets calmly and a small smile, the white gem corresponds.

*******

Lapis leaves Jasper and Amethyst's house, the ocean gem had had a lot of fun with the purple gem, but now Lapis had to go to Peridot's apartment. Flying calmly that night, the blue gem intends to enter through the green gem window "Hi Peridot!" Lapis greets upon entering.

"Lapis!" Peridot calls surprised to see the blue gem, she jumps to hug her partner, who is sincerely surprised. Lapis does not correspond to the hug, but directs a look of curiosity to Peridot.

"Something happens?" The ocean gem asks the green gem.

"I didn't know where you were! I was very worried, now you are one of my responsibilities. Your meeting with Agata is in almost 3 days" Peridot begins to explain and murmur as she separates from Lapis, the green gem talks a lot while looking at her hands .

"Okay?" The blue gem calmly accepts "Hey. Peridot" Lapis calls to see how Peridot had been playing with her own hands, to the confusion of the blue gem, she attracts the attention of the green gem "Do you want to be my friend?" Lapis asks Peridot.

"... I guess so." The green gem sentences in surprise, then the blue gem takes Peridot's hand and she shakes hands with her partner "Lapis, you learned what a handshake is!" Peridot exclaims surprised and with a small smile on her side, the gem of the ocean for her part burps in response.

"I learned that from Amethyst too," Lapis exclaims excitedly, while the green gem realizes what Amethyst refers to Lapis. Peridot turns her eyes a little frustrated when the ocean gem continues to burp, Lapis wanted to entertain the green gem talking about her day with Jasper (ignoring the darkest details) and Amethyst.

Then they begin to hear a kind of steps in the walls connected to the corridor, attracting the attention of Lapis and Peridot, they doubt for a moment whether to open or not, but suddenly a kind of strange, slimy and moving sound is heard like a tongue rubbing everywhere. Peridot is going to open the door and then in it, she see a strange creature, with a gem in its body, the creature was like a giant bird, blue in color and without a distinguishable neck, it had rare eyes and a tongue divided into three.

The creature stuck her tongue out of Peridot, Lapis goes out to see the creature, a feeling of disgust comes out of the deepest of the gem of the ocean, before any of the gems says anything, the creature runs. But Lapis stops her, she gives a blow to the face of the creature, whose physical form disappears almost instantly, only one gem is dropped to the ground "... It's a gem" Lapis exclaims with surprise.

"... I'll call Yellow Diamond immediately," Peridot says worried while she goes to her phone, while the gem of the ocean keeps staring at the gem, for a few moments Lapis's foot gets on the gem, but she hesitates to crush the gem, so she simply takes out her foot and picks up the gem.


	14. One week

Lapis is sitting in a chair, with a sweaty Peridot beside her, the blue gem no longer had the strange gem creature in the hall, a pair of Amethysts had requisitioned her. Now the duo is in a hotel administration room, with the door closed and waiting for Yellow Diamond "... Hey, if it turns out we both saw something we shouldn't see. You know, Peridot, because you're my friend ... I'm not going back to prison " Lapis seriously sentences, the look that the blue gem directs towards Peridot makes her blood run cold.

"I am sure that they are only going to ask us a few questions, everything must have a logical explanation" The green gem exclaims hurriedly, Peridot knows that maybe Lapis can exaggerate in her actions, which was dangerous if in reality everything could be solved more simple.

The gem of the ocean seems to shake for a few moments, but when a tall figure is reflected in the door, Lapis stops and she remains stoic, the tall figure opens the door, it was Yellow Diamond, although she had become smaller to be able to entering there, the diamond's gaze quickly fixes on the two gems in front of her. Peridot shrinks a little nervous, while Lapis relaxes in her seat.

"My diamond" The green gem greets, she tries to be polite and kind "Lapis, greets Yellow Diamond" Peridot mutters worried, while the ocean gem just makes a small gesture with her hand to greet Yellow Diamond.

The diamond walks inside the room, she behind her back pulls out a yellowish bubble, which contained the creature's gem seen by Lapis and Peridot in the hallway "My Amethysts checked the security cameras. Although we didn't find all the information that personally I would like to have, I already have an idea of the appearance of this ... gem ... Do you say that this gem simply appeared in the hall?" Yellow asks seriously.

"Well ... yes" The green gem sentence "I mean, I don't think that gem was born there, but we found it in the hall" Peridot adds muttering quickly.

"And it was ugly, very ugly" The blue gem adds the useless data, she has no tact at the time of saying those words.

"... What was that gem?" The green gem dares to ask, Peridot swallows saliva while the diamond's eyes are fixed on her "If you don't mind answering, my diamond, of course" The green gem adds with concern for her own health.

Yellow Diamond sighs "I'm not sure" The diamond assures carefully, she thinks deeply but there is simply no answer "I never saw this type of gem generate such a physical form, it is simply illogical" Yellow sentence, there is a little pinch of annoyance in her voice.

"I can't help noticing that you have a very long neck. What is it for?" Lapis asks curiously, now a small look of discomfort from the diamond is directed towards the gem of the ocean, which Peridot tries to silence.

"I will ignore that disrespect" The diamond exclaims seriously, to which Lapis only raises her shoulders while her companion sighs with joy "But I want that for now, you two remain silent about what you have seen about moments, I will inform Pink and we will begin to investigate quickly "Yellow says seriously, she sends Peridot and Lapis outside her office.

"Well, even if I insult a diamond, I can't go to prison." The blue gem smiles in excitement, while a face of shame forms on the face of the green gem. "What happens? Yellow Diamond intimidates you?" Lapis asks her partner curiously.

"No but it's embarrassing to see her ... Once I called her clod in her face, by mistake, I didn't realize she was behind me while talking to Steven" Peridot explains nervously, the look of wonder on the face of the gem of the ocean is huge, Lapis takes the green gem by the cheeks.

"My respect for you just grew Peridot" The blue gem ensures while smiling from ear to ear to the green gem.

"Thank you?" Peridot exclaims without much confidence, then Lapis throws her to the ground while she walks back to Peridot's apartment, with the green gem following behind "That gem was not normal ..." The green gem murmurs, her thoughts followed focused on the strange gem of the hall.

"I'm going to give you some advice, don't think about that gem very much" Lapis exclaims calmly, she just keeps walking without looking at Peridot "She's probably just a weird joker or something like that" The gem of the ocean indifferent sentence, when the green gem opens the door. Lapis throws herself on the hammock where Steven had slept days before "... I'd like to go bother Steven!" The blue gem suddenly exclaims.

"Lapis, no" Peridot says seriously, she checks her cell phone "Apart from Steven not being able to leave the next few days, he will be sleeping right now" The green gem says showing the time to Lapis, it was already tomorrow "Probably his Mothers let him out for the next D&D session "Peridot assures calmly, but the blue gem pouches.

"I want to see Steven now," Lapis says, while the green gem only sighs in resignation but she rushes to stop the blue gem from escaping for the window.

*******

**[Some days after]**

"Congratulations Lapis!" Peridot exclaims animatedly, it was morning and she talked to Lapis who had only lay in the hammock for days, the gem of the ocean gives a curious look to the green gem "... You've been released for a week, I just receive a call from Holly Blue Agate to take you at 4:30 for your meeting with her "The green gem points with a smile.

"Oh ... what a laziness it gives me to go" Lapis mentions with annoyance, Peridot sighs again, because she had tried to move the blue gem for days, without success.

"Steven is coming to pick you up" Peridot exclaims, so Lapis jumps out of the hammock excitedly. Unfortunately, the ocean gem had to wait a few hours before the hybrid appeared as promised by the green gem, Steven had his own car, it wasn't as luxurious as his mother's, but at least it was his.

"Ready pretty girls?" Steven asks as he buckles his belt and checks his mirrors, Peridot nods, she was in the back seat, while Lapis had insisted on be in the seat of the co-driving "Lapis, put on the belt" The hybrid claims to the blue gem, which tries to imitate Steven's action to put on the belt "I help you" The hybrid sentence while helping Lapis put on the belt before leaving.

The hybrid then receives an excited smile from the blue gem, Lapis starts telling Steven what he did during the days they didn't see each other, both friends had agreed that they had barely moved, Peridot thinks it's lucky that the ocean's gem I didn't mention anything about the strange gem to the hybrid.

Then a creature with a gem in its chest tries to leave the sewer, similar to a humanoid plant, with large and greasy red leaves with white dots, but Steven just runs over it, forcing the creature to continue in the sewer "... That sewer cover sounded loud "The hybrid sentence surprised while Peridot was sweating, Lapis decides to ignore everything. None of them noticed that creature that tried to leave.

"What does this?" Lapis exclaims playing the radio, Steven just starts listening to music with her while they go to Agata.


	15. What the hell is that?

Steven parks his car in front of a blue building, it was a government building with nothing special "Lapis wait!" Peridot exclaims while Lapis gets out of the car, the ocean gem was running looking for Agate to go to another place as soon as possible, Steven just watches the two gems go inside.

The hybrid gets out of his car, closing the doors tightly as he walks towards the building "Hi!" Steven greets, suddenly the Amethysts notice him and they will happily receive the hybrid, most Amethysts were friends with each other, and therefore Steven had met many of them.

On the other hand, while the hybrid enters the building chatting with those Amethysts, the gem creature that Steven had run over moves quickly following the hybrid from behind, the corrupt gem has small hands, and she with her fingers goes to the building fuses , and although she is electrocuted, she begins to break wires and electrical systems.

******

Lapis had finally reached the office of Holly Blue Agate, she is sitting in a chair next to an elongated armchair "Agate! How long" The ocean gem greets the other blue gem, which in turn seems to write something on her notebook.

"One week, Lapis" Agate mentions in response "Where is Peridot?" The blue gem asks with curiosity, but then the aforementioned green gem appears, she is a little embarrassed and sweaty for chasing Lapis, who was much faster than her. Agate writes something down again in her notebook "Lie down Lapis, you also take a Peridot chair" The highest blue gem orders.

The gem of the ocean lies down in the armchair with calm and joy, while Peridot sits in a chair "So, Lapis. What have you been doing lately?" Agate asks Lapis, who thinks for a few moments.

"I did not move like in ... four days, or three, I am not very sure" The gem of the ocean responds, surprising Agate for such a sign of laziness "Before that I was meeting with my friend Steven, he took me to eat, to buy clothes and things like that "Lapis adds with joy "Oh, and Amethyst taught me how to shake hands and burp "

"I see you have more friends now," Agate adds calmly as she writes the words of the ocean gem in her notebook "Is that what she says true, Peridot?" The blue gem asks the green gem a question, which gets a little scared by Agate's sudden fixation on her.

"Yes! Actually, Lapis has behaved very well, she became friends with Steven quickly, you know, Steven Diamond, he is friends with almost everyone but Lapis has spent her first days of freedom with him" Peridot responds calmly "We became friends more slowly, but Lapis behavior is only a bit eccentric, but nothing bad or harmful" The green gem adds.

Agate looks surprised, she stopped writing for a few moments "Diamond? Pink's son, Blue's nephew? Oh my diamond!" The blue gem exclaims surprised, however she quickly regains her composure "I'm sorry" Agate mutters as she finishes writing "Do you have any plans for next week, Lapis? Objectives, goals or something"

"No, not really" Lapis responds calmly, but then the building's lights suddenly go out. The gems think it is a common fault and they wait, they generate light with their gems.

******

Steven is in a hallway when the lights suddenly stopped, the Amethysts, a skinny Jasper and a Carnelian are around him "Hey, I'll go check the fuses" One of the Amethysts exclaims, but then everyone listens like through the pipelines of ventilation something walks and creeps, the ducts were small and must be an equally small creature to enter, or very flexible.

"That sounded bad." The hybrid exclaims worried, the Amethysts rush to try to take out whatever was inside, but when they hit the ventilation ducts, a kind of yellowish spores come out, then vines grow in the ducts and around the Amethysts, catching the gems.

Steven is not long in coming to free the Amethysts, but then the corrupt gem jumps on top of them, their reddish petals extend catching the hybrid and an Amethyst, closing on them like a carnivorous plant, the gigantic cocoon revolts from the inside. The skinny Jasper and the Carnelian are stopped by more spores of the spores that the corrupt gem expels.

Suddenly, pink skewers come out of the cocoon, which gets bigger and bigger, until finally the cocoon explodes, sending the corrupt gem to fly "Are you alright?" Steven asks the Amethyst in his arms, the hybrid had used his bubble to free himself from the creature's cocoon.

"Yes" The Amethyst exclaims a little nervous, while for his part Steven puts her down and he starts running after the corrupt gem, which damaged runs away in another direction.

"Free the others, I'm going to chase that thing!" The hybrid exclaims hurriedly, through the dark corridors of that building it was increasingly difficult to move, spores of the corrupted gem make vines and plants grow everywhere, and Steven can only be guided by the light of his own gem "What is that thing?" The hybrid wonders curiously.

Creepers try to stop Steven, attacking him quickly but he defends himself using his shield and dodging the vines, but each time the vegetation became increasingly lush. Then Steven surrounds himself with his bubble, the vines try to surround him but the hybrid spins at high speed to get rid of them and continue through the halls, although due to the now irregular terrain, the bubble bounces.

******

"Why do Amethysts take so long to solve this problem? It should only be something with the lights" Agate curses softly, she bites the cap of her pen while she waits for the light to return, Lapis and Peridot are just still in place , but then they hear a strange sound, the sound of something that seems to creep.

The door opens wide, the shadow of a quick creature is seen crossing the hall, while the room is invaded by vines "Ahhh!" The green gem screams terrified when some vines turn her on, Agate soon shouts the same way, but the gem of the ocean escapes, she uses her wings and calmly dries the vines using her control over the water.

"Hey, I'll see what that was" Lapis indifferent sentence, she simply leaves, leaving Peridot and Agate hanging on the dried plants, both gems try to yell at the blue gem and ask her to come back, but Lapis is more interested in chasing that mysterious figure.

The chase becomes a bit difficult, Lapis is drying out the plants that get in his way but the necessary concentration takes time and delays his mobility a bit, so the corrupt gem takes advantage, but then Steven appears on the other side from the hall, running in his bubble "Steven!" Lapis greets excitedly, she uses all the liquid she had gathered from the plants and floods the hallway, creating hands of water to catch the creature.

"Lapis!" Steven corresponds with a smile, he undoes his bubble and creates a gigantic shield to stop the feet of the corrupt gem, between the sword and the wall, the creature quickly jumps against one of the aisle windows, falling outside the building "Do you know what is that?" Steven asks curiously as he floats outside the building, with Lapis flying by his side, both continue to chase the creature.

"The truth, I have no idea" The gem of the ocean answers the question of the hybrid with indifference, the creature begins to get into a portal of a park, the duo formed by Lapis and Steven hurries to get into the ray of the portal before the creature disappears. Now the group is in a kind of leafy forest, through which the creature tries to escape, the vegetation becomes more leafy by the spores of the corrupt gem.

Steven covers his hands with some bubbles and creates skewers in these bubbles, cutting the vines while moving forward, Lapis on her part flies over to try to pounce from above on the creature. The corrupt gem runs desperate when suddenly one of the skewers of the hybrid crosses her from behind, destroying its physical form. Steven and Lapis approach, with the hybrid picking up the gem with curiosity "Was that thing a gem?" Steven exclaims surprised.

"Oh, yes. I also found a rare gem a few days ago" The ocean gem exclaims surprised, while the hybrid enclosed the gem in a bubble, Steven gives Lapis a curious look "Yes, Peridot and I were Quiet until a rare gem entered the hall, Yellow Diamond said we didn't mention it to anyone, but how are you my friend I tell you "The ocean gem begins to calmly narrate what happened a few days ago.

Both the hybrid and Lapis were sitting in a tree when the blue gem ends its narration "Wow ... I guess I'll go take it to my aunt and Pink then" Steven mentions with surprise, looking at the gem for a few moments, the hybrid jumps from the tree and goes to the portal.

"Hey Steven, a question. Where did you learn to use your powers and fight or move like that? I was in a war, but I don't know why you know how to use your powers" The blue gem asks curiously as she flies next to Steven, which doesn't have much trouble answering that question from Lapis.

"I began to awaken my powers at thirteen, at the beginning mom and Pink were not interested in training me, but thanks to Amethyst and my aunt Yellow, I learned to use them" The hybrid explains calmly and with a hint of pride, while the gem of the ocean just looks at him.

"Train in what way? Because I still see you a little fat" Lapis exclaims laughing, then she squeezes Steven's belly, who is startled by the gesture.

"Lapis!" The hybrid complains beginning to chase the gem of the ocean, which laughs as she runs through that place.

******

**[A few hours later]**

Steven and Lapis return through the park's portal, finding that the streets were closed by a group of Amethysts "I'm not fat" The hybrid is quick to say after looking around, the blue gem laughs a little more, she squeezes Steven's tummy, who in turn removes Lapis's hand from his body with strengh.

"Guys! Where were you two ?!" Peridot runs out of the building where Lapis and she used to be, the blue gem and Steven greets with they hands quietly.

"We got lost for a few hours" The hybrid exclaims, to which Lapis nods to dismay the green gem. Peridot looks curiously at the duo for a few moments, and then Pink Diamond, accompanied by his sister Yellow Diamond appear, with Agate following the diamonds excitedly from behind.

"Steven!" The pink diamond exclaims in surprise, with Yellow waving calmly at his nephew, before Pink said anything Steven threw the corrupt gem like a basketball to his mother's hands.

"Goodbye!" The hybrid says goodbye while running to his car, Lapis runs after him and Peridot chases the duo, she is worried. With the rest of gems watching with surprise by the actions of the hybrid. Pink examines the pink bubble for a few moments, she had already heard the Amethyst reports and Yellow's own words.

"Another strange gem" The yellow diamond mentions with curiosity "What is this, Pink?" Yellow Diamond asks worried.

"I'm not sure" The smallest of diamonds says, she breaks the bubble and looks like the corrupt gem is regenerated, before she does something to escape, Yellow crushes her with her foot, picking up the gem once more, with amazement and perplexity, a few drops of sweat fall down Pink Diamond's forehead "... We will call them corrupt gems, but there is something we must do with them" The diamond exclaims.

******

**[On the streets]**

Steven drives to Peridot's apartment, with Lapis as co-pilot, the two of them had almost left Peridot behind, but they needed the green gem to open the apartment door. "Hey ... that gem was something very strange." The hybrid mentions, he is surprised, meanwhile the blue gem feels her stomach churn once more, similar to when she tasted Amethyst's food.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm sure it was just a gem with mental problems or something." The green gem is quick to say.

"I already told Steven about the gem in the hall" Lapis rushes to add, surprising Peridot.

"Yellow Diamond ordered you not to say anything!" The little green gem stands out with annoyance, while the gem of the ocean just sticks out her tongue to her companion.

A little laugh comes out of Steven's mouth "Hey don't fight in my car, I don't say I'm going to say anything, for now Yellow and Pink must be investigating what that was ... But I wonder what they will do if more gems like that appear" The hybrid sentence with concern after his initial laugh, in the car there is silence.

"...I have an idea!" Lapis exclaims excitedly, she honks Steven's car horn and almost pushes it out of his car. After recovering from the scare caused by the blue gem, the hybrid avoids an accident, with a frightened Peridot yelling at Lapis from the backseat.

"You tell us later, today is D&D Saturday" The green gem remembers after a few moments, with Steven getting excited and rushing the march, to Peridot's greatest terror. Lapis just looks at them curiously, after a few moments they arrive at The Barn, outside Peridot's apartment, Amethyst was already waiting to meet with the group.


	16. Let's hunt monsters

Steven, Amethyst and Peridot are sitting around the table preparing their D&D session, with Lapis lying in the hammock watching them from there "Then, before starting the session ... Someone has to go buy food" The green gem sentence, she is totally serious, before her words the purple gem and the hybrid seem almost to jump.

"I do not!" Amethyst quickly sentences, the purple gem's fingers point to Steven, who sighs for being slower than Amethyst.

"I don't want to go" The hybrid sighs tired.

"Oh come on Steven, I was waiting all the time outside" Amethyst argues tired.

"I was running through a forest for hours" The hybrid counteracts, pointing to Lapis, who gives him a mocking smile "... Let me guess, I am the only one who has money" Steven sentences, observing the purple gem and the green gem. Peridot and Amethyst try to deny, but after a few moments they nod.

The hybrid sighs once more, but finally he gets up from his chair and takes the keys of Peridot to go to open the door "I'm going with you" Lapis sentenced calmly flying next to Steven, who only nodded at the exclamation of the gem blue, then she and the hybrid leave the apartment.

"... What did you spend your scholarship money on this week?" Amethyst asks Peridot with curiosity, to which the excited green gem is going to show some books to the purple gem, who regrets having asked that question. Meanwhile, Steven and Lapis go down the elevator, with the blue gem humming the music.

"Would you like some frozen potatoes? They are the easiest thing to cook" The hybrid asks Lapis while he checks his wallet, Steven always has a lot of money but in general, he was content to spend on any meal. The blue gem in turn nods calmly.

"... What are frozen potatoes?" Lapis asks the hybrid, who tries to explain to the gem how frozen food works while they went to the nearest store, outside The Barn. Steven knows Amethyst's appetite, and Lapis doesn't seem to be far behind, so the hybrid buys about four kilos of frozen potatoes, which the gem of the ocean tried to eat without cooking, but Steven stopped her in time.

While the store owner gave the hybrid the change, Steven was suddenly curious "Hey Lapis. What was your idea on the way back from your talk with Agate?" The hybrid questions, attracting the attention of Lapis, she waits a few seconds until the owner finished with Steven's change. Then the blue gem drags the hybrid and the potatoes out of there.

"You see, then it seems that some strange gems are appearing, or at least they are beginning to appear, and the last one could have been very dangerous. If it weren't because we were both close to stop her" Lapis sentence, she is serious and logical, attracting even more Steven's curiosity "What happens if there are more attacks? Yellow Diamond only learned about this recently, Amethysts can help but neither they nor the police force should be prepared to face mysterious gems" The gem of the ocean continues.

"Where do you want to go exactly? Do you have a theory where strange gems can come from, or another idea?" The hybrid exclaims with caution, a small smile spreads over Lapis's face, showing Steven's fangs "I think I know what you're thinking" The hybrid points a little worried.

"We're going to hunt those gems! It'll be fun, you, me, and maybe Peridot if she likes the idea." The ocean gem stands out with emotion, she puts her arm around Steven's neck as they walk, for his part a grimace of concern forms on the face of the hybrid.

"So ... Do you want to form something like a ghostbuster service? I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Yellow and Pink can take care of that, just give them some time," Steven argues calmly, but for her part Lapis seems curious.

"What is a ghostbuster?" The blue gem asks curiously.

"Oh, you see. They're a type of people in a movie that ... hunt ghosts, I still have a lot of movies to show you, you missed a lot of years of pop culture" The hybrid explains, attracting great curiosity from the blue gem.

"I like the idea of watching more movies, Steven. But seriously, I think it would be a good idea, we already take care of one of those gems, we are strong and we can also respond faster than your mother or Yellow Diamond. I don't know if any once you had to deal with the bureaucracy, but it is tedious "The gem of the ocean sentence, she is persistent in her idea.

"Believe me, I once had to help Pink and mom in their jobs ... my God" The hybrid exclaims in pain, running his hands over his shoulders, just remembering that experience with the bureaucracy gave him pain, all while they both returned to go up the elevator "Let's just change the subject ... Do you plan to get a job or something?" Steven asks Lapis, who looks at him curiously "You know ... you need to earn money for expenses and things like that" The hybrid points out calmly.

"Why? I already have Peridot and you, I don't think he has a lot of expenses" The gem of the ocean exclaims with surprise, but for his part Steven sighs and laughs a little "What's so funny?"

"Life is expensive" The hybrid sentence with annoyance "Lapis, Peridot and I will not be always paying everything. You need your own money" Steven stresses clearly, meanwhile Lapis touches the nose of the hybrid, to the surprise of Steven himself, because of the strangeness of the gesture.

"If you say so" The gem of the ocean sentences calmly "... Can we be ghostbusters you and me ?!" Lapis exclaims excitedly, with the hybrid sighing with a drop of sweat coming down his forehead. Steven tries to persuade Lapis a little more, but finally the hybrid fails in his attempts.

******

Entering the Peridot apartment, the ocean gem and the hybrid head towards the kitchen to prepare the frozen potatoes while the green gem and his partner were already playing D&D "Very good. What do you need to cook?" Lapis excitedly asks the hybrid, who puts some oil in a pan.

"Oil" Steven responds indifferently as he puts the oil back in place, turning on the oven to start cooking frozen potatoes, the blue gem only looks at him in response.

"...Only that?" Lapis asks with a little hint of annoyance.

"Yes. Why?" Steven asks while making sure not to ruin the food.

"I want to help you cook" The blue gem emphasizes with a small smile, meanwhile the hybrid is more focused on cooking. Lapis puts her finger in the boiling oil, fortunately her physical form is not even disturbed by this, but Steven quickly takes her finger out of the gem and some oil leaps at him in the process.

Steven is going to wash his hand quickly with cold water, while now it is Lapis who watches over the kitchen "You scared me, don't put your hands in the pan. It can't hurt you, but you shouldn't do it" The hybrid quickly emphasizes coming back from the sink, the blue gem laughs a little nodding in response "If you want to help ... Hey, girls! Do you want fried eggs too?" Steven asks Peridot and Amethyst. Lapis raises her hand with emotion, but the hybrid lowers the hand of the blue gem.

"Yes!" The purple gem accepts, while the green gem is indifferent.

"Bring some eggs," Steven says calmly, with Lapis going to the refrigerator and bringing all the eggs into it, although the hybrid only sighs, though he has to make sure that the blue gem does not throw the egg into the pan while he is frying potatoes.

******

**[A few minutes later]**

"All ready!" Steven calmly sentences while together with Lapis they return to the table with two trays of potatoes and fried egg to place, to the emotion of Amethyst. The blue gem sits to eat along with the purple gem, they both eat quickly, while the hybrid and Peridot eat more slowly, with Steven and the green gem playing while they eat, although they have to wait for Amethyst to finish filling her mouth with food.

So the group spent a few hours playing and eating, although Lapis does not participate she looks closely at her friends, in reality the blue gem does not understand much about the role play or the dice rolls "Steven. I have a question" Lapis exclaims curiously , attracting the attention of the hybrid "Do you have a job?" The blue gem asks.

"Me? No, I'm still waiting until I am 18 to start work" Steven responds calmly "Although, in fact if I could take a job, maybe" The hybrid is calmly sentencing, Lapis' gaze now has stars.

"Let's work together!" The gem of the ocean exclaims "Let's hunt monsters!" Lapis exclaims dragging Steven out of the apartment, with a confused Peridot screaming at the blue gem and chasing her to save the hybrid.

"... Hunt monsters?" Amethyst asks confused, however she only lifts her shoulders and takes her things to leave, but not before eating a little more french fries, the last remaining leftovers.

******

Outside and far from the building, Steven was sending a message to his mother informing him that it might take him a while to go home "Lapis, seriously. We're not going to hunt monsters. What is the probability that we will find one at this precise moment? " The hybrid holds while Lapis walks excitedly in front of him, looking for more of the gems like the ones they had seen before.

"Come on Steven, it's our first day at work" The blue gem emphasizes, but for his part Steven sighs, they had lost Peridot a few streets ago and the hybrid was still a little worried about the green gem.

"Lapis, this is not work. There is no one who has hired us or paid us to take care of strange gems" The hybrid explains seriously, while Lapis is checking a trash can "Okay, I'm going to help you. But do not check in the trash "Steven exclaims putting himself next to the blue gem, Lapis smiles excitedly at the hybrid, which in turn corresponds the gesture amicably.

Then a canine creature jumps from the garbage, but it was not a common dog, its face was similar to that of a worm, a slight cry of surprise comes from Steven and Lapis but then the creature looks at them, even if it has no eyes, she jumps against them to attack them. The hybrid and the ocean gem only need a blow to stop it, but when the creature's physical form is destroyed, they discover that it had no gem "... She doesn't it have gem?" Steven exclaims surprised.

"Perhaps it comes from a bigger gem" The blue gem theorizes surprised, then Peridot reaches them.

"Here are you two! Clods!" The green gem stands out tired, but then the hybrid, flying along with Lapis, leaves from there, heading towards his home.

"Bye Peridot, see you later!" Steven says goodbye calmly while Peridot yells at the duo to come back down "Where are you going Lapis?" The hybrid asks with curiosity the gem of the ocean that flies by his side.

"Can we go watch some movies?" Lapis asks with joy "Tomorrow we can continue to hunt monsters" The blue gem stands out, Steven laughs a little at Lapis insistence, but finally the hybrid agrees to take the blue gem to watch movies at his home. Although Pearl did not agree with Lapis visit, Pink Diamond was not at home that day.


	17. First day of work (part 1)

**[8:00 in the morning]**

Lapis is staring at Steven sleeping, the hybrid is still while the ocean gem checks the time on the teenager's alarm clock "... Steven. Steven, let's go. Wake up" The blue gem exclaims trying to wake up as calm as possible the hybrid, but she fails. After all, Lapis and Steven had been up late at night watching movies, had served the gem of the ocean to learn more about human pop culture, and the hybrid had fun.

In short, it was difficult to wake up Steven, so Lapis gives him a strong blow to the face, which awakens the hybrid "Lapis?" Steven asks surprised but sleepy seeing the blue figure near him, Lapis nods calmly.

"Steven, wake up! It's our first day at work." The gem of the ocean exclaims with emotion, but the eyes of the hybrid open with surprise. Steven sits on his bed and takes the alarm clock in his hands, which breaks because of the pressure like a wet paper.

"Lapis ... it's 8 in the morning ... I went to sleep at 4!" The hybrid exclaims throwing the remains of the alarm on the floor, Steven goes back to bed to wrap himself with his sheets leaving Lapis still in place. Then the hybrid feels like a waterfall falls on him, of course this was courtesy of the water powers of the blue gem "Lapis!" Steven screams getting up while Lapis stops, she just takes the hybrid by the arm and takes him to the bathroom.

"Get ready and we go" Lapis exclaims excitedly, while the hybrid sighs to get into his bathroom to brush his teeth and do his needs, the blue gem just stares outside staring at the door. Finally after a few minutes Steven comes out with a serious face.

"I will have to take out the sheets and blankets before we go" The hybrid sentence climbing to fix his bed to put everything to dry early, while for her part Lapis takes a small detour. Although Steven does not know where the blue gem had gone, suddenly he feels Lapis' hands behind, she covers his gaze "... What?" The hybrid asks after a few moments.

"I have a surprise for you" The gem of the ocean exclaims with joy, then she turns Steven around and uncaps his eyes, from somewhere Lapis had taken out two blue work overalls "One for each one" The blue gem sentence putting her overalls on the clothes she was wearing at the time, her overalls are quite large because of her thinness.

"Where did you get this from?" Steven asks surprised taking his overalls "Do we really have to wear a overalls?" The hybrid adds with a hint of annoyance.

"Yes! They are our work uniforms. Where did I find them? ... Out there" Lapis calmly sentences, Steven just looks at her for a few moments, the blue gem's eyes beg the hybrid to put on his suit. Steven's overalls are also big, but in the case of the hybrid it was more because of his height (the overalls were also wider than Steven), neither he or his partner had the body type for those overalls.

"Let's go," Steven says as he leaves his house along with Lapis, the hybrid runs behind the excited blue gem.

******

Lapis and Steven spent almost an hour searching through the trash for some trace of where the last strange creature they saw come from"Lapis, I don't think we always find the creatures randomly." The hybrid complains, he rubs his back a little sore.

"Hey Steven. What is this?" The blue gem asks Steven, the hybrid approaches to see what Lapis points, but then the blue gem tickles him. "Do not be a killjoy!." Lapis exclaims with excitement while Steven squirms through the tickle, the hybrid tries to stop the gem of the ocean, but by mistake he kicks a garbage can, showing that part of it was melted in an unnatural way, like If something had gone through it.

"... You have to be kidding" Steven mentions surprised seeing the garbage can "This may have been done by any gem, but it is a bit weird" The hybrid sentences the circumference of the large hole made in the can.

"It's still a crime," Lapis exclaims, to which Steven nods calmly.

******

Shortly after that, the ocean gem and the hybrid continue on their way, having left the dump where they were before, now they find a mural with curious holes, which have the same circumference and depth, although not all are aligned in an apparent order "... Could this have been done by some gem or human with a tool? " Lapis asks Steven, meanwhile the hybrid reasons.

"Maybe yes, but I don't know the purpose of doing this. Maybe it's the work of an artist, they usually do weird things" Steven says while the blue gem puts her finger in one of the holes "Lapis ... "The hybrid sighs while Lapis shoves her finger out of the hole while laughing" Pfffff "Steven laughs while the blue gem continues to play.

"I didn't resist, stop me before I start moaning," Lapis laughs as the hybrid quickly pulls the jocular blue gem out of the holes. "Hey. Isn't there anywhere we can learn about the news or gather information or something?" Lapis asks Steven curiously, who is surprised by his partner's insight.

"We could go read some newspapers or go to the library ... I can't believe what I'm going to say, but my friend Ronaldo has a blog where he is dedicated to investigating strange things, it is called Keep Beach City Weird" The hybrid explains calmly and a little embarrassed to mention Ronaldo's personal blog.

"Lets go to the library!" Lapis exclaims excitedly, a smile invades Steven's face as he guides the blue gem to Buddwick Public Library.

******

The hybrid and his companion sit in front of a computer in the library, Steven starts searching through news websites and even Ronaldo's blog, however there is hardly any information, no one has noticed more melted garbage cans, and holes in the mural was taken as vandalism, on the other hand Ronaldo talked about a kind of mole-men leaving coded messages "No, nothing useful" The hybrid sentence while leaving the blog.

"Wait ... Do you want to watch porn in the library?" Lapis whispers, at first Steven thought it was something serious, but then the mocking smile of the final words of the blue gem made the hybrid blush and give a cry of nerves. Steven quickly covers his mouth when the librarian tells him to shut up "Haha" Lapis laughs the more softly she can.

"Let's go" The hybrid sentences with a sigh as he pulls the blue gem out of there, the blush still does not disappear because of Lapis's indecent proposal, although Steven knows it was a joke, he was embarrassed.

"Hey Steven" The blue gem catches the attention of the hybrid, which turns sharply to look at her.

"What?" Steven asks seriously.

"What are those flowers?" Lapis asks with curiosity some pink flowers that seem to have some small bright details, they were not the action of a strange creature but stand out among the other plants, those flowers are scattered on one side of the library, scattered by the wind.

Steven assures himself that they are the type of flowers he is thinking about "They are Pink's flowers, she makes them bloom once a year and guides them to the field, where they later disperse in the wind. Beach City makes a festival to celebrate that date, for some reason, they throw fireworks, sell food and things like that "The hybrid explains to Lapis calmly.

"Oh, how cool. Can we ever go?" The blue gem asks with emotion, to which Steven nods calmly.

"Sure, I love going to see the fireworks" The hybrid exclaims with a smile as he starts talking to Lapis about the fireworks, they don't move from the library while they do that, but then a car stops in front of the building, and the person who comes down speaks to them, or well, she speaks to Steven.

"Steven!" An Indian girl greets the hybrid excitedly, who turns to see and widens his smile. The human girl runs to hug Steven, who corresponds.

Lapis on the other hand observes how the two humans were about to speak, but she was ignored. "Hey, I imagine this will be a nice meeting for you two. But I don't know what's going on." The ocean gem exclaims calmly, attracting the attention of the grieved humans.

"Hello, I am Connie Maheswaran" The human girl presents herself with cordiality and kindness to Lapis, who extends her hand to her, Connie corresponds the greeting.

"Your surname is weird and ugly" The blue gem calmly sentences as she continues to greet the human, Connie is a little surprised but Steven rushes to speak to prevent Lapis from making the presentation worse with the human girl.

"I'm sorry Connie, she is my friend Lapis. Peridot and I are helping her to reintegrate into society" The hybrid explains presenting the blue gem, a small laugh leaves Connie, while Lapis looks at her staring without saying nothing, that was a bit awkward for the human girl.

"Oh, I see. Nice to meet you Lapis" Connie sentences with a small smile, though she staggers over the indifference of the ocean's gem "What are you doing here Steven? ... Why are you wearing a overalls?" The Indian girl asks with emotion heading towards Steven, who realizes that he still wears a overalls bigger than him.

"Oh you see, I was ..." The hybrid tries to explain, but he feels a little embarrassed by the situation, so Lapis had to intervene, running her arm behind Steven's neck.

"We're working" The blue gem calmly sentences, the hybrid tries to cover Lapis's mouth but she simply avoids Steven's movements.

"Working on what?" Connie asks surprised, the hybrid wanted to hurry to answer but the blue gem silences him with her hand.

"We hunt monsters!" Lapis exclaims excitedly, she almost lifts Steven as if he were nothing, the human girl is confused and looks directly at the hybrid.

"Do you two work for Ronaldo or something? Or did you take her with him and now she wants to hunt monsters?" Connie asks confused.

"Steven took me to watch movies at Ronaldo's house," Lapis adds calmly, surprising the human girl, but Steven can finally speak.

"It may surprise you, but no, Ronaldo has nothing to do with this. The work was Lapis idea" The hybrid explains with a hint of annoyance as a few drops of sweat fall down his forehead, a small laugh comes out of Connie's mouth "Connie, you're not helping" Steven mutters indignantly.

"Good luck hunting monsters" Connie sentences as she heads towards the library for a school homework, Lapis and Steven say goodbye to her while they must continue their work. Steven is embarrassed and a little flushed, while Lapis looks at his target, hunt monsters.


	18. First day of work (part 2)

**[Midday]**

Lapis and Steven are sitting at a fountain in a park "We've been searching for four hours, and we didn't find anything" The hybrid sentence indifferently "Are we still looking for something or are we going to take a break?" Steven calmly asks the blue gem, but she doesn't pay attention to the question.

"There are coins in the fountain" Lapis exclaims curiously.

"Oh yes, people throw coins in the fountains, they make wishes, you know, love, good luck ... more money, things like that" The hybrid responds with a small smile, but then Steven thinks for a few moments and seriously turns to see his partner.

"Now they are our" Lapis sentence while putting all the coins in a water ball.

"Lapis, return the coins" The hybrid sentences seriously.

"Why? If they threw them out, they didn't want them, I love them" The ocean gem responds with curiosity "And what will become of them if we don't rescue them?" Lapis emphasizes hugging the water ball with coins, meanwhile Steven sighs.

"The coins are collected from time to time to donate to charity, you know, animal shelters, poor people and things like that" The hybrid explains carefully, but then the blue gem runs "Lapis!" Steven calls chasing Lapis.

"This is charity, I am poor, I have no money or work with pay!" The blue gem exclaims while the hybrid tries to retrieve the coins from the fountain, Lapis keeps running, which for her is having fun together with Steven. However, the duo does not realize that while they run, they mistakenly get into the back of a hospital.

"I caught you!" The hybrid exclaims when it is thrown on the gem of the ocean, making it fall down the floor of a corridor, the water ball is destroyed by the lack of concentration of the smiling Lapis, and the corridor gets wet while the coins are scattered around the I usually "... Now we have to clean that up" Steven sighs in annoyance.

"Catch you!" The hybrid exclaims when he throws himself on the gem of the ocean, causing her to fall down the floor of a corridor, the water ball is destroyed by the lack of concentration of the smiling Lapis, and the corridor gets wet while the coins spread on the floor "... Now we have to clean that up" Steven sighs annoyingly.

"Correction, you are going to collect the coins, you made me fall" Lapis sentences calmly while the hybrid rose and helps her to get up, the duo looks at the coins without wanting to collect them all from the ground.

"You took them out of the fountain in first place" Steven claims, but Lapis keeps pointing him to collect the coins. Both begin to bother a while to decide who collects the coins, pointing to each other in a childish argument.

******

Upstairs from Steven and Lapis, Greg is on a hospital gurney with Priyanka Maheswaran in front of him "So ... A couple more days and you should be discharged to leave the hospital, I recommend you to do some physical activity to recover a little more mobility and this does not happen again "The Indian woman calmly sentence by checking a tablet and then give a recipe to Greg "Your medicines" Priyanka exclaims.

"Thank you Dr. Maheswaran" The adult responds calmly while the Indian woman leaves the place, Greg rubs his back a little but then he looks at the gigantic gem that is watching him, poking her head from the side of the door "Hello Jasper" Greg greets with a small smile, while the orange gem enters the place.

"Hey" Jasper corresponds the greeting approaching the hospital bed with a small radio in hand, the orange gem sits on a small bench next to Greg. Jasper focuses on placing music on her radio, she just keeps quiet next to the human, both listening to the music.

"I will be discharged very soon, thanks for coming to visit me during the week" Greg exclaims animatedly while accompanying the song with his melodious voice, meanwhile Jasper nods with apparent indifference, the orange gem does not give many words but she listens Greg sing.

"You have a beautiful voice" Jasper suddenly sentences, she tries to sound as serious as possible but the orange gem looks away to the side when the human's attention is fixed on her.

"Thank you, years of practice. Why don't you sing too?" Greg responds with a smile, while Jasper shrugs.

"Singing ... is not my thing. It seems that some gems are obsessed with singing, but that is not my problem, I prefer to hit things and people" The orange gem responds indifferently, but Jasper is surprised when the human gives her a slight pat on the side of the arm.

"Oh come on, you can't have a very bad voice" Greg challenges with a small smile, a small mocking smile forms on the face of the orange gem, which sings along with Greg, really Jasper doesn't sing so badly, she wasn't good singing, but she wasn't horrible. However, the sound caused in the hospital attracts someone from the basement.

While Steven and Lapis continued to argue for minutes, from the basement a creature with the head of a worm and the bony and emaciated body of a dog with human hands moves towards the surface, digging through the basement ceiling to arrive just below the hybrid and the blue gem, they feel like the floor breaks under them.

Lapis takes Steven in her arms and she spreads her wings to fly a few meters above the ground, when finally the creature breaks the tiles of the place, causing the coins and the water to fall down "My coins" The blue gem laments ¡, apparently ignoring the creature in front of them, with a gem on its viscous worm head.

"Don't think about the coins!" The hybrid sentence while preparing to attack the creature, but the corrupt gem escapes of them, running like a quadruped in search of something else. "You have to follow her." Steven exclaims, Lapis nods but not before trying to poke her head to see her coins, but she gives in to the pressure of her partner and flies following the creature.

"I'm going to throw you against that thing!" Lapis exclaims seriously, to which Steven nods, the blue gem launches the hybrid like a projectile. Steven surrounds his fists with his spiked bubbles trying to hit the creature, but the corrupt gem stretches its worm head and covers its canine body with it, when the hybrid hits the viscous surface, its fists slide due to contact.

The spikes on the other hand cut the flesh of the gem, but instead it releases a yellowish liquid whose smell stops Steven dry, while the corrupt gem keeps escaping. Lapis rushes to fly trying to stop the creature, she uses her wings to try to catch the corrupt gem, but then the creature using its viscosity, causes the blue gem's water to slide, the viscous skin was like oil, less dense than water.

Steven covers his face with a bubble avoiding the smell of the liquid produced by the corrupted gem, but there was no way they could catch the creature. Then Priyanka Maheswaran was about to enter a room, wanting to know why Greg and Jasper made so much noise, just to see in front of the corrupt gem, the Indian woman screamed.

The creature finally discovers part of its canine body, using its hands to remove the door from the frame, the door flies out and heads to impact Priyanka "I'm going to save the human!" Lapis sentence flying to stop the door while Steven heads to stop the creature from entering that room.

The blue gem flies at high speed, she catches Priyanka before the door crashes her, Lapis receives the impact, although she can't take much damage from a door, other than some scratches "Are you okay?" The blue gem asks Priyanka, whom Lapis drops on the floor after seeing that the Indian woman is well.

"Yes" Priyanka exclaims getting up with a little difficulty, the doctor did not know what to do but she runs to Greg Universe's room, not realizing that she drops her wallet, which Lapis takes with a smile of emotion.

******

When the corrupt gem enters the room, Steven was behind her "Dad ?!" The hybrid diverts his attention, surprised to find his father and Jasper in that hospital. However Greg and the orange gem were more shocked to see the curious creature approaching them, bringing its hand to the radio.

However, before the corrupt gem places its fingers on the device, Jasper grabs the creature's hand and hits it in panic. The creature responds by trying to surround the orange gem with its worm head, but Jasper then releases a large amount of electricity through her body, the corrupted gem twists in pain, and its physical form is destroyed, the gem falls to the ground.

"...What was that?" Greg asks the orange gem with curiosity, which in turn lifts her shoulders.

"Are you all right here ?!" Priyanka asks entering worriedly in the room, receiving curious looks from everyone present.

Steven picks up the gem and puts it in a bubble, the hybrid approaches and puts it in the hands of the confused Indian woman "Send this to Pink or Yellow Diamond" Steven sentences seriously, moving then to the hospital bed, he is worried "Dad! What are you doing here?" The hybrid asks almost pushing Jasper to be with his father.

"Oh, it's a funny story," Greg says calmly while a nervous orange gem silently approaches the door with the human's consent, trying to explain to his son what happened. But then Jasper meets Lapis in front of the door, the blue gem smiles.

Jasper re-enters the room, only to find Steven's gaze staring at her and Greg sweating a little. The orange gem approaches the window, she opens it, Jasper jumps as if nothing "Bye Greg!" The orange gem says goodbye, falling safely in the street and then running from the hospital.

"... I'll take care of her later" Steven mutters "Dad, if you were in the hospital you should have called me, I would have come right away to use my healing powers" The hybrid claims worried.

"I didn't want to bother you son" Greg sentences scratching a little awkwardly, but Steven spits on his hand and gives his father a light touch on his back "... Thanks" The adult mutters calmly, getting up as if nothing while his son smiles at him with joy.

******

Steven is smiling with his father on the side, Greg leaves the hospital with his clothes, Lapis is behind the hybrid "Can I accompany you to the car wash?" The hybrid asks his father with emotion.

"No Steven, enjoy the day, I have to go back to work" Greg exclaims with a smile "Now that I look a little ... Why do you wear such a big overalls?" The father asks his son curiously, Steven realizes that he was in a overalls all the time and blushes very distressed.

"We are working!" Lapis exclaims excitedly, she lifts Steven as if he were nothing.

"Good luck with your work son, take care of him Lapis" Greg sentences with a small laugh as he leaves, although the hybrid tries to explain the situation, it was already late.

"... Hey Steven, let's eat something" The blue gem exclaims excitedly running her arm around Steven's neck, the hybrid sighs, believing he will have to pay everything again "I have money" Lapis exclaims showing some dollars and rubbing them on the face of the surprised Steven.

"Where did you get that?" The hybrid asks confused, while the blue gem gloats with her money.

"It's our pay Steven, we get it for hunting a monster, all for the donation of the brown human from before" Lapis exclaims with joy.

"Her name is Priyanka Maheswaran, she is Connie's mother" Steven exclaims surprised "Great Lapis! You got money, but first, you must learn to value it, you can't spend it all today" The hybrid claims by stopping the blue gem and holding her hand , making sure she doesn't throw away the money.

"No, you have to save it, you can spend a little on food or something you like from time to time, but first. Save the money you earn, because you don't know when you may need it" Steven explains carefully, with the blue gem nodding at the words of the hybrid.

******

"Peridot!" Lapis screams entering through the window along with Steven to the green gem apartment.

"I have to give you a copy of the keys" Peridot sentence while working on a small machine at her table "What's up Lapis?...Why do you two wear matching overalls?" The green gem asks surprised.

"Let's not talk about it now!" The hybrid claims with a hint of annoyance.

"We make money!" Lapis exclaims throwing the money on the floor, only for her and Steven to get it together quickly before it flew out the window.

"How?" Peridot confused question.

"That is not important" The hybrid assures calmly.

"We hunt monsters" Lapis adds with joy, Steven for his part sighs "And we bought a piggy bank!" The blue gem exclaims excitedly "Show her, Steven" Lapis mutters to his partner, who pulls a plump chubby piggy bank from his pink gem "I'll call him Steven 2" The blue gem says.

"... You could get yourself a wallet or save money in your gem, buying a piggy bank is itself, spending money uselessly" Peridot declares seriously.

"Believe me, try to convince her to buy a wallet or keep the money in her gem" Steven claims as he leaves the piggy bank in the kitchen, helping Lapis deposit the rest of the money.

"But it's very cute!" The blue gem claims pointing to the little pig. Steven spends a few hours at Peridot's house together with Lapis, they had already planned their next work day, although the green gem still doesn't understand what his friends were talking about.

******

Steven returns home in the afternoon, his mother is cooking something when then she looks curiously at the hybrid "Steven. What do you do with one of your mother's overalls?" Pearl asks curiously but certainly tenderly, then Steven takes off his overalls and throws its in the kitchen trash can "Steven!" The white gem exclaims worried, going to lift the overalls.

"I'm sorry I didn't know" Steven rushes to assure "I was working today with that thing on" The hybrid exclaims a little sorry, surprising Pearl.

"Working?" Pearl asks curiously, approaching her son with concern "Didn't you have an accident or did you?"

"No mom" Steven says while the white gem checks him from head to toe, she wanted to make sure that her baby didn't have a scratch "I was just walking around a bit, collecting garbage and things like that" The hybrid explains calmly.

"It's great to hear that! I'm very happy for you Steven, you're already a little man," Pearl says as she pampers her son without compassion, to Steven's annoyance.

Then Pink Diamond enters, watching her son as she holds a bubble in her arms.


	19. Living up to expectations.

Pink and Steven are facing each other, meanwhile Pearl is happily folding clothes behind them, adding diamond coveralls to the pile of clothes "... I didn't know you had overalls" The hybrid says calmly " Did you ever use them? " Steven asks, he is quite surprised.

"That is not important" Pink responds indifferently, the gem deposits the pink bubble on the table "I found out that you helped in the hospital with Lapis, and you two caught another one of these ... corrupt gems" Pink Diamond exclaims, Steven does not distinguish the tone of the diamond with certainty, a few drops of sweat come down his forehead.

"Corrupt gems?" The hybrid asks surprised "Is that they name or something?"

"No, it's just the name with we designate them, momentarily" Pink Diamond exclaims calmly, she uses her finger to slowly rotate the bubble, watching the gem float inside the bubble with an emotionless look. Pink looks at her wife a few moments, and she makes a sign for the white gem to leave the place, Pearl diligently follows the order. "But that's not an issue that you should care about, Steven, I want to talk about your behavior. I know that you like to play and have fun, I did a lot of that, but you should not get into things like this, go hunting creatures with your friend and wear overalls around the city "Diamond dictates seriously.

"...Why?" Steven asks in response "I don't see anything wrong, I mean, yes, the hospital was damaged but ... I think I helped people, and that's fine, who knows who could have been damaged if Lapis and I wouldn't have done anything "The hybrid exclaims a little confused and nervous, but then his mother's hand is placed in front of his face, stopping Steven's words

"That is not important Steven. We have an image to keep, the press will eat you alive, normal people do not expect their leader's son to be spending time with a former convict and hunting beings they have never heard of. Keep a lower profile or I will make you stop immediately "Pink Diamond sentences, her eyes look directly into her son's eyes, which in turn frowns "Do you understand? " The diamond asks seriously.

"... Yes," Steven replies as he gets up and goes to his room.

******

The next day, when Lapis goes to Steven's house, the hybrid was already awake, waiting for the blue gem "What are you wearing?" Lapis asks curiously, while Steven shrugs, over his eyes he wears sunglasses, in general the body of the hybrid is completely pink, and you can see the pink of his eyes even through the glasses. On the other hand now Steven has the closure of his jacket up and has his hands in his pockets.

"Just some sunglasses ... Did you take the overalls out of one of the closets in my house?" Steven asks by suddenly changing the subject, Lapis tries to look away as she whistles a little tune at the apprehensive look of the hybrid.

"What if I had done it?" The blue gem asks in response. "I don't say I would have done it, I just mention the hypothetical case that your accusation is true, which is not" Lapis continues talking, extending the conversation with his partner more than necessary. Steven puts his hand on the blue gem's face and he walks away "You don't wear your uniform!" Lapis exclaims following the hybrid.

"Yes, Pink forbade me to wear her overalls" Steven responds indifferently while behind him the blue gem complains in a childlike way.

The duo is going to do their job, although the hybrid wants to keep the profile as low as possible. Steven doesn't know if he can do that while he keeps Lapis under control.

******

Steven and Lapis continued to search for corrupt gems for a long time, finding no apparent hint of more of them, therefore the duo stopped for a few moments to observe the city. Steven is next to Lapis at a bus stop, with the hybrid explaining to the blue gem how public transport works but then a mocking voice surprises Steven, a voice familiar to him, but as usual, not for Lapis "Has anyone told you that you look like Terminator with those lights through your sunglasses?"

"Spinel!" Steven greets excitedly while he hugs the aforementioned pink gem. The blue gem sees Steven's friend in confusion, Spinel had pretty dark pink colors, if you compared them with Steven's pink and his clothes, the pink gem's shoes looked sharp indeed, the only thing that contrasted was the red shirt with flowers that Spinel wears on her physical form, a memory of her vacations.

"Hi," Lapis greets the pink gem. "I'm Lapis. Are you Steven's friend?" The blue gem asks curiously extending her hand to a curious Spinel, she had stopped focusing her attention on Steven to look at Lapis.

"His best friend" The pink gem proudly says, she stretches around the hybrid that laughs with joy, Spinel then corresponds to the handshake of the blue gem. Lapis is still a bit disoriented by the appearance of the pink gem "My vacation lasted a few days longer than expected, and Bismuth and Pink Pearl also decided to stay a little longer" Spinel exclaims talking to Steven, they both start walking about the pink gem vacations while the blue gem follows them with curiosity.

Lapis sees how that duo speaks cheerfully, they are visibly, very close, they tell jokes and laugh, although the pink color in Steven remains, the blue gem realizes that he usually takes that color when he is upset, but now the hybrid looks very happy and he still maintains a pink light in his body. As Lapis thinks, suddenly Spinel and Steven's attention turns to her.

"And? Who is this new friend?" The pink gem asks the hybrid with emotion, pointing to the thoughtful blue gem.

"Lapis comes from the Little Homeworld initiative, she is reintegrating into society, so she lives with Peridot now, but she and I have been spending time together," Steven explains calmly, while Lapis nods happily.

"Ah, the prison. I hope you didn't drop the soap in the showers, Lapis" Spinel jokes, a blushing hybrid laughs along with the pink gem, although Steven tries to make Spinel retract that joke. For her part, the blue gem did not understand the joke, she was not going to ask for them to explain that joke.

"Work? I can't believe you got a job, Steven. Your mother is rich! She could keep the whole city if she wanted to, and not even talk about the money your aunts have," Spinel exclaims with surprise, she he gets next to Steven "What are you two doing, exactly?" The pink gem asks curiously.

"Ehhh. We collect garbage and similar things" Steven rushes to explain "Although we don't really collect much garbage, we just started yesterday at the hospital" The hybrid adds quickly, to which Spinel smiles at him with some surprise.

"That sounds a bit boring. Why don't we go to play for a while?" The pink gem exclaims.

Steven has no answer, he looks at Lapis "Yes!" The blue gem exclaims with her star-shaped eyes. Spinel takes the hybrid and Lapis by the hands and the three go to play together. The pink gem took Steven and his new friend to a soccer field, the field is almost empty so they have the space free"How do you play this?" Lapis asks curiously taking a soccer ball in her hands.

"There are usually two teams of eleven people, but in general, the goal of a player is to score a goal, kicking the ball in the opponent's area" Steven explains carefully, the best he can really. But then Spinel kicks hard a ball that explodes in the sky.

"Rule number one to play human sports, Lapis. Usually neither the equip or the players can compete like us or Steven, so. Do what you want!" The pink gem exclaims with emotion.

"I prefer Spinel's explanation" Lapis exclaims excitedly, she bursts a ball with a kick, while Steven sighs a little tired.

"I'm just going to see you two play" The hybrid tries to go to one of the benches, but then Spinel's stretched arm drags him into the game, pulling Steven's sunglasses "Spinel!" The hybrid exclaims a little worried, he tries to go for his glasses but the pink gem continues to stop him.

"Oh come on. Don't you want to play a fun game with your best friend? We haven't played in a few weeks," Spinel exclaims, she pretends to be a kind of drama queen about that. Steven sighs and he passes his hands over his own face, accepting with a growl "I knew you would accept" The pink gem sentence victorious.

The soccer field quickly becomes similar to a battlefield, with the two gems and the hybrid playing brutally, naturally the balls exploded and a little dirt flew away because of the accidents they have. Steven's pink color was gone, no doubt the hybrid is excited for that game.

Steven's face and his clothes are covered with dirt, giving him a very dirty look but that does not matter to Spinel or Lapis, however suddenly from the hillside next to them, strange lights focus on the hybrid, like a camera taking pictures, but the lights stop in a matter of seconds "... I'll be right back" Steven sentences seriously, stopping dry, he runs to the place where the lights had been.

"Hey! We're not done here!" Spinel exclaims quickly "What's wrong with him?" The pink gem asks curiously to Lapis, but the blue gem is more interested in continuing to play, meanwhile Spinel just raises her shoulders "He will come back ..." The pink gem sentence.

Steven runs looking for the origin of those lights "Don't be a paparazzi please ..." The hybrid exclaims thinking out loud, the words of Pink Diamond resonate in his head but then Steven observes the creature from which the lights come, it was a corrupt gem, with the appearance of a camera with tentacles, taking photos around the place, the photos were of Steven and other people, like Spinel or Lapis "This makes it much easier" The hybrid smiles, he attacks the corrupt gem, who tries to defend herself with its tentacles but she loses quickly.

Steven encapsulates the gem in a bubble and leaves the photographs lying on the ground, while he returns to play with Lapis and Spinel. The hybrid hides the bubble next to the field before playing again, without any of its partners noticing. But Steven did not know that small creatures, exact copies of the people photographed but in miniature, approached to pick up the bubble, taking it away.

******

**[A few hours later]**

Steven sits on a bench a little tired, with Lapis and Spinel at his side "Tired?" The pink gem mocks while she clean the lush earth of the hybrid's skin, in truth all of them are a little dirty, but it was easier for the gems to clean themselves than for Steven.

"Hey Steven. Why did you leave before?" Lapis suddenly asks after cleaning herself by releasing water on top of herself, Steven feels a chill run down his back, this almost makes him jump, a slight look made him realize something, the bubble with the corrupt gem was no longer there, but that was not the matter for which Steven had gone before, he had not realized then that this was the work of a corrupt gem.

"I ... I thought the hillside lights were a photographer's camera, I had a little panic attack" Steven exclaims scratching his nape a bit awkward, he is certainly distressed, attracting the curiosity of Lapis and Spinel.

"Problems with fame?" The pink gem asks curiously, to his surprise, Steven nods.

"... Why don't we go to eat something?" The blue gem offers calmly, attracting the attention of Spinel and the hybrid.

The pink gem does not wait for Steven to answer "Yes, that sounds like a good idea" Spinel stands out with emotion, taking the hybrid by the hand, while Lapis has to follow them closely while she flies.


	20. I don't know, just crush your problems (mini-chapter part 1).

While Lapis goes for food, Steven and Spinel are sitting waiting for the food, the hybrid and the blue gem had come to that place before, it was where they both had gone to eat hamburgers "Don't you want Lapis to be here too?" The pink gem asks curiously, to which Steven quickly nods "Why?" Spinel asks once again.

"We barely met each other for a week and a few days. I don't want to involve her in my personal problems" The hybrid responds calmly, the pink gem nods, she is not particularly against or in favor of excluding Lapis, Steven had his motives and Spinel accepts them as valid "I've been talking to Pink, she says I have an image to keep for the sake of the family's image" The hybrid explains, his fingers go through the table for a few moments, he doesn't know very well why he does that.

"Surely Pink doesn't want you to spend a shameful moment or something, it can't be so bad." The pink gem calmly dismisses, she pats her friend a little on the back. "What can she do to you? Your mother loves you I’m sure the children behave badly all the time. I don’t think she’ll banishes you from the city or something like that. ”Spinel exclaims calmly.

"I don't think she does something like that either, that would be tyranny. But the point, is that she said she would stop me immediately, and I know that my mother is a person of extremes, when she says something like that, she is serious" Steven mutters With a frown, suddenly the plastic on the table seems to boil with the touch of the hybrid, but neither of the two present notices.

"If you want I can be your personal bodyguard, is like a free license to kick photographers" Spinel jokes while stretching around Steven, a small laugh comes out of the mouth of the hybrid and the pink gem smiles in response "Although surely you can do that already, the advantages of being a diamond and being the son of the leader of Beach City, I guess "Spinel exclaims calmly.

"They are less than you think" Steven says quiet, then Lapis finally arrives with the hamburgers, which she places on the table to eat together with her friends. The hybrid sighs when he sees his two friends eat, they don't have manners, partly that's why he assumes that Pearl doesn't like them both very much.

"Hey Steven. What is a paparazzi?" Lapis asks curiously, so Steven realizes that he hadn't explained that to the ocean's gem.

"It's like ... a photographer who doesn't consider a moral code to take pictures" The hybrid explains in response.

"When an interested photographer becomes a paparazzi?" Lapis asks again, Steven for his part has to descend to a spiral of answers with the blue gem, not realizing that Spinel is eating his hamburger. The hybrid sometimes regrets going to eat with friends, this was one of those occasions.

******

The group formed by Spinel, Steven and Lapis walks the streets, it is getting dark, but before the blue gem leaves, small creatures appear carrying a pink bubble, copies of Steven, Lapis, Spinel and many other people, the small copies look annoying and try to attack the hybrid "... What is this?" Spinel asks surprised and no doubt, she is very confused.

Lapis and Steven forcefully crush the little creatures, although the blue gem is also confused. The little creatures disappear in small clouds, with the hybrid gathering the pink bubble "Spinel! We can explain this" Steven exclaims quickly while passing the bubble to Lapis.

"How do your mother call them? Corrupt gems?" The blue gem asks without any touch, the hybrid sighs and nods.

"Listen, nobody can know about this" Steven orders to Lapis and Spinel, she (the pink gem) listens carefully to the explanation of the hybrid "I really want to continue working on this, so ... we need a place to keep this" Steven exclaims as he looks around, nobody had seen what had happened.

"Let's go to my house" Spinel offers, surprising the hybrid. On the other hand Lapis nods with curiosity, reason why the pink gem takes them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the duration of the chapter.


	21. I don't know, just crush your problems (Part 2).

"Nice place, Spinel" Lapis exclaims watching the house of the aforementioned pink gem, the house was a white color but particularly surrounded by vegetation "Why so many plants?" The blue gem asks with curiosity, while the calm Spinel focuses on opening the door of her home.

"Caring for plants is easy, so Pink and I turned this old building into a garden, that was at the beginning. In the end I stayed here, I'm already a tenant for quite some time, although I'm usually in other places," Spinel exclaims with emotion, showing Lapis how the interior of the house is also full of flowers and other plants, such as forget-me-nots, daisies, petunias, and more.

"Oh sure, caring for plants is very easy." The blue gem suddenly exclaims loudly as she sweats a little on her forehead, the pink gem casts a confused look at Steven.

"I'll explain later." The hybrid sentences in response, so Spinel just raises her shoulders a little. "Where do I leave this?" Steven asks as he points to the pink bubble he is holding, the pink gem responds with a disinterested gesture of her hands, she doesn't care too much, so Steven is going to place the bubble in a corner of the room, as if the capsule is a current sports ball.

"Do we sleep here then?" Lapis asks curiously to the hybrid.

"No, we just came to leave the corrupt gem" Steven responds indifferently, but for his part he now has Spinel behind.

"You two can stay to sleep" The pink gem exclaims suddenly taking the cell phone from the hybrid, which looks with a hint of irritation as Spinel unlocks it and marks Pink Diamond "Pink? Yes, hello. Look, Steven and his friend Lapis are in my house. They're going to sleep ... Yes, bye, I'll tell you how my vacation went after "The pink gem exclaims calmly and joyfully while talking to the diamond, in a short time they cut the call "Here you go" Spinel says animated, putting the cell phone in Steven's hands.

"You two know how to unlock my phone, one day I will regret not knowing how to change the password" The hybrid sentence, he sighs and keeps his phone back in his pants. Then Steven throws himself on the couch with Lapis, who looks carefully at all the plants, she seems to murmur something about sunflowers.

"Well. What do you two want to play ?!" Spinel asks excitedly jumping to the couch as she stretches around the hybrid and the blue gem "I have card games, board games, we can play hide and seek, juggle ..." The pink gem begins to tell a long list of activities that the group can perform at home.

"I think I prefer to sleep" Steven sentence receiving small boos from Lapis.

"Oh, you can try to sleep. At your own risk" Spinel exclaims, she widens a mocking smile on her face, directed at the hybrid, who looks curiously at the pink gem "I got some new markers, I think you know what I mean "Spinel says with a small laugh, she pretends she is already drawing a mustache on Steven's face.

"Let's play cards then" Lapis exclaims with interest, so the pink gem stretches around her house until she reaches the couch once again with a deck of poker cards, with Spinel and the hybrid explaining the gem of the ocean how to play blackjack

******

After hours of play, Spinel heads to leave the cards where they were, leaving the sleepy Steven along with Lapis. The blue gem is humming a little song that the pink gem taught her, while the hybrid stretches a little before going to sleep on the couch "Hey, Lapis" Steven catches Lapis' attention after a few seconds, the hybrid looks to the blue gem a little awkward.

"What?" Lapis asks curiously, she directs her attention to her friend.

"Look, I have to talk to you about something about our work, and I ask you to listen carefully. We have to be very careful when we go to hunt corrupt gems, because otherwise Pink is going to ... make me quit, to put it in some way" Steven explains to his partner, who looks at him with curiosity "It is because of what Pink says, that I have to maintain an image for the good of the family" The hybrid explains with annoyance and distaste for the words of his mother.

"Oh ... Well, you don't have to continue if it's going to cause you problems." Lapis exclaims a little awkwardly, looking down but quickly Steven gives the blue gem some patting on the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm not giving up. I like helping people with you, I'm just saying we have to be careful." The hybrid exclaims quickly, so Lapis nods at Steven's explanation.

"We are good friends?" The blue gem asks with emotion, to which the hybrid nods. Spinel finally arrives.

"Help?" The pink gem asks, after having stretched so much, she is now entangled with herself.

"... Would you believe me if I told you it's not the first time this has happened to Spinel?" Steven asks Lapis curiously, but the blue gem is more focused on laughing than helping Spinel, so the hybrid has to untangle the pink gem, alone. Having helped the pink gem, Steven goes to sleep on the couch, with Spinel and Lapis watching television.

"Hey Spinel" The blue gem catches the attention of the pink gem "Do you want to be my friend?" Lapis asks curiously.

"Sure...But I tell you something Lapis, be a little careful, Steven is someone very strong and kind, but his mothers are not as kind as he is. Steven's personality is more like Greg's" Spinel exclaims calmly, returning quickly to watch TV while telling jokes to her new friend, Lapis laughs a lot, she quickly forgets the words of the pink gem regarding Steven's mothers.

******

The next morning, Pearl appears knocking on the door of Spinel's house, calling for Steven. The hybrid wakes up on the pink gem couch, getting up and watching Lapis focused on watching television "It reminds me of Garnet playing video games" Steven exclaims passing his hand in front of the blue gem's eyes, that doesn't make her react, but Spinel quickly pats him on the back.

"Don't worry, I'll take her to Peridot's apartment, later" The pink gem exclaims, then the door sounds louder, Spinel and the hybrid sweat "Better let's open the door" The pink gem sentences, running hurried along with Steven to receive Pearl. The white gem finally stops her blows.

"Spinel" Pearl greets without much emotion.

"Pearl. How are you? Long time no see" Spinel responds with a small smile, a little nervous, as she stretches to greet the white gem with a handshake. Pearl corresponds without much emotion, but she quickly glances at the hybrid, making sure he was fine.

"Mom, I'm fine" Steven mutters a little embarrassed while the white gem finally stops "Bye Spinel, say goodbye to Lapis from me" The hybrid says goodbye to the pink gem with a big hug, finally Steven leaves, and the cheerful Spinel goes with the blue gem.

"Lapis, come on, it's already more than 5 hours in a row on television" The pink gem exclaims passing in front of Lapis, but the blue gem doesn't react, her eyes seem illuminated by a lot of information "Yes, exactly like Garnet" Spinel mutters thoughtfully, she goes directly to turn off the television, taking out the cable from the device.

"Hey!" Lapis suddenly complains, trying to turn on the television again, pushing the indifferent pink gem "... How do you turn this thing on?" The blue gem asks starting to touch the buttons of the device.

"I'll show you how to do it, another day, but now you have to go home" Spinel exclaims raising Lapis. The blue gem makes a childish pout while the pink gem takes her to Peridot's apartment "So Lapis. Can I help you and Steven's work?" Spinel asks along the way.

"Eh? Why?" Lapis asks curiously, attracting the look of the pink gem "It's not that I oppose it, I just want to know why" The blue gem adds quickly.

"Well, I'm Steven's best friend, and you and I, can be friends. So I want to make sure everything goes well, besides, this whole issue of corrupt gems can be very dangerous, so I want to make sure you two don't get hurt "Spinel sentences calmly and a small smile, which extends to Lapis' face.

The next day, to Steven's surprise, Spinel had introduced herself as the new co-worker of the duo, made up of the ocean's gem and him. Although in reality, during that week not many corrupt gems were found, which was curious, at least for the group of monster hunters. It should be said that Lapis was the only one who still wore overalls.

******

**[Some days later]**

Lapis is in her second meeting with Agate "And I got a job ... now I collect garbage" The gem of the ocean says, for a disinterested Agate, meanwhile Peridot is simply with her cell phone "What is this?" Lapis asks suddenly focusing her attention on a comic on Blue Agate's table.

"Oh, one of the Amethysts must have forgotten that. They are human things, nothing important, just fiction." The blue gem sentences without interest in the comic, in a short time she dispatches Lapis and Peridot outside her office. The green gem will look for Steven to get them out of there.

"... Lapis come on" Peridot exclaims, but in the end she has to drag the gem of the ocean, which is very focused reading the comic.

In the end the green gem finds Steven outside, but Lapis takes the hybrid to another place to talk to him, Peridot sighs a little annoyed at the apparent delay. A few meters away, the blue gem puts the comic on Steven's face "Steven. Do you remember that your mother told you that you had to keep a low profile and all that? Well, I found the solution. Let's be superheroes" Lapis exclaims excitedly.

"... Lapis. What the hell?" Steven exclaims taking the comic from his face and looking at it for a few moments "Where did you get this?" The hybrid asks surprised.

"From the Blue Agate desk, but that doesn't matter. Let's be superheroes, come on. When did I ask you something? Me, I'm your good friend" The blue gem implores with emotion, her eyes remind of stars, for her part Steven is not very excited with the idea.

"Lapis, I'm not going to dress in tights or become a kind of superhero. We just have to be discreet." The hybrid is calmly says. "And secondly, I barely know you for two weeks, but I can make a list of many things that you you've asked, from food to go hunting monsters "The hybrid claims while Lapis continues to implore.

Steven just goes to his car to take Lapis and Peridot to the green gem's apartment "Hey, Spinel." The hybrid and the blue gem greet excited to see the aforementioned pink gem in The Barn, with a curious Peridot watching Spinel.

"What are you doing here?" Lapis and Peridot ask while the pink gem returns the greeting with her hand.

"If you excuse me Peridot, I have something to talk with Steven and Lapis" Spinel exclaims, then showing a camera, startling the hybrid a little, while the blue gem looks curiously "I met Ronaldo and took it away" Pink gem adds calmly.

"You shouldn't do that" Steven seriously emphasizes with a sigh.

"Yes, as you say" Spinel sentences with a mocking smile, stretching around the hybrid and Lapis to show the camera's photographs to the duo, showing how in some storage units there were suddenly holes. Steven and Lapis are surprised, so the trio says goodbye to a confused Peridot while they go to the storage units in Beach City.


	22. A red eye

Lapis looks curiously at the City City storage units, tens or hundreds of compact spaces "What are these things used for?" The blue gem asks her friends with curiosity, she knocks on one of the metal doors of the storage units, breaking the metal, although before Lapis gets into one, Steven quickly stops her and prevents her friend from stealing or snoop something.

"People use this units to store things that they don't need or don't use, we would generally call it trash, but they have emotional value ... and sometimes they can be worth a lot of money" Spinel explains, after a few moments of silence, the pink gem tries to stretch into the hole created by Lapis in one of the units.

"We didn't come here to steal or snoop something!" Steven exclaims moving Spinel away from the unit "These are not the units of the photographs, we have to keep looking" The hybrid mentions checking the camera stolen by the pink gem, checking the numbers that can be seen in the units "I think it is .. . over here "Steven mentions leading the group.

When the trio arrived it was late, but looking for the units shown in the photographs would only take a few minutes. Lapis, Steven and Spinel finally find them, the images were true, there was a kind of holes "It seems as if they were made by heat or something" The gems exclaim touching the edge of the holes, meanwhile the hybrid can feel the heat bringing his hand a little.

"They are still hot, but ... these holes can no longer be recent. This must have happened even before Ronaldo photographed the storage units" Steven says very surprised "Now that I think about it ... What was Ronaldo doing here? I guess he will have his own storage unit ... I don't want to know what he keeps there "The hybrid mutters, he is already digressing other issues.

Suddenly the group hears a kind of sound "... Is anyone welding anything?" Spinel exclaims surprised, the sound was produced by a kind of heat, burning some material and taking out sparks, but the group can't see anything "Hey, I think the sound comes from inside one of the storage units" The pink gem exclaims a little confused.

Steven and Lapis sharpen the ear, they are on one side of the row of units, while Spinel is on the other side. They advance in a uniform way, looking with some difficulty for the origin of that sound. "I think it's in here." The blue gem murmurs to the hybrid, she is cautious at the moment.

Steven makes a sign at the pink gem, so Spinel approaches her companions, they take a few moments "When I count to three, we enter" The hybrid exclaims, with Lapis and Spinel nodding "1 ... 2" Steven counts, but that's when the hurried gems kick the metal door of units "3 ..." The hybrid ends after a sigh, but Steven's disappointment quickly becomes a surprise when the trio discovers the inside of the unit.

There was an eye there, of the size of a head and with an orange color, but with a red pupil, that strange eye was levitating and emitting light, as if it were a small sun "... What the hell?" Spinel, Steven and Lapis ask surprised, the eye on the other hand was throwing a ray of heat that was melting a strongbox, but when that detects the sound of the group, it directs its pupil towards them.

The pink gem and the blue gem make the hybrid stand against the ground, due to the movement of the eye the group of three almost lost their heads due to the heat ray, which due to the rapid reaction of Lapis, Spinel and Steven, alone melts part of a storage unit behind them. The eye stops its heat beam for a moment, flying to inspect the inside of the other unit that has just opened, losing interest in the safe "Do neither of you know what that is?" The hybrid asks.

"No" The gems respond with certainty, Steven then runs behind the eye and with his fists plunges the eye into the ground, then the hybrid realizes that his fists hurt and has some burns, while the eye is almost unharmed. The hybrid recedes and spits in the hands, healing the damage

"It is resistant" Steven mentions surprised.

The eye rises again going to look at the storage unit, this time both Spinel and Lapis, along with the hybrid, try to hit the mysterious eye, however again, it seems that there is no result, the eye simply sinks into the ground without any apparent damage more than some scratches "I think we are getting tired" The blue gem ensures with a little discomfort, while Steven sighs tired behind her. The group tried to crush the eye for minutes, without success.

"Hey. What if we try to see what it wants?" Spinel suggests with curiosity.

"... We have nothing to lose" Lapis and Steven condemn accepting the proposal of the pink gem, so the trio lets the red eye get up and go to the storage unit. The eye silently observes the objects inside, while the group of three closely watches. However, it seems that there is not what the eye is looking for.

The object is removed from that unit and goes to the next, to the annoyance of the group "Will it be a corrupt gem? Or is it something like a machine?" Steven wonders quite confused, meanwhile, Lapis spreads her wings to try to cover the eye with them, however the unidentified object does not flinch.

"We must have an eye on that thing ... Did you understand? Eye?" Spinel exclaims with a smile, stretching around her two companions, the hybrid at the beginning does not laugh, only to release a few laughs along with the pink gem shortly after, the joke was bad, but at least the group entertained a little. Lapis had a smile, but she really keeps her eyes on the red eye.

It is when the eye melts the metal door that the blue gem and the unidentified object are fixed on something that attracts their attention, at first Steven and Spinel only see a white object covered by trash, but Lapis jumps to grab the object when the red eye approaches it. The hybrid and the pink gem can barely react quickly, since then the blue gem had pulled out a white light laser cannon that attracted the eye, ready to destroy the cannon with its heat beam.

But Lapis is faster and she uses the cannon like a mace, breaking the eye into pieces of red, scattered on the floor, to the surprise of the group. Steven, Lapis and Spinel are placed around the storage unit and the remains of the red eye "Look at this! It's a light laser cannon, I remember these, the rebels used them during the war against Pink Diamond" The gem of the ocean exclaims surprised, even a little nostalgic "What is it doing here?" Lapis asks surprised after a few moments.

"By current standards, this is an antiquity" Spinel exclaims patting the barrel with his hand "Maybe it belongs to a collector or something like that" The pink gem calmly mentions, on the other hand the hybrid observes some more boxes of the unit storage, finding some souvenirs of a musician.

"... This is my dad's storage unit" Steven exclaims in disbelief while he shows one of Greg's shirts, when he was just starting his musical career, the memories with Mr. Universe's logo were visible "What does my dad with a cannon ?! " The hybrid emphasizes surprised, meanwhile Lapis and Spinel were equally surprised, but the surprise of the pink gem becomes a laugh.

"Wait a minute, let's not jump to the conclusions but ... Can you imagine that Pink gave your dad this on a date?" Spinel laughs just thinking about it.

"These cannons had a voice activated command. What password would your dad put on this?" Lapis asks curiously taking out the light laser cannon of the storage unit, a few drops of sweat fall from the forehead of the hybrid.

"If every porkchop were perfect we wouldn't have hotdogs" Steven exclaims, and to everyone's surprise the cannon fires a beam of pink light at the sky, that laser for a few moments takes the form of a woman, but when it reaches its highest height, the laser explodes, leaving some pink trails as if it were a firework, until the remains of the laser disappear "... It's from my dad" The hybrid sentence stunned.

"I maintain the theory that Pink gave it to your father on a date, in exchange for Greg putting his cannon in her, Pink gave Greg a literal cannon," Spinel exclaims calmly, while an embarrassed Steven strikes the shoulder of his best friend, the pink gem laughs while the hybrid continues to give her harmless blows.

"Leaving jokes aside, you can ask Greg why he had one, later. A more important question is. Why was the eye searching for the cannon?" Lapis asks curiously, stopping her two friends, since they both reason the words of the blue gem.

"I'm going to examine the remains of the eye," Steven points out, walking toward the body of the red eye, when the hybrid examines, he notices a gem inside. "It was a corrupt gem." Steven exclaims touching the gem to make a bubble, but when the hybrid touches the corrupt gem, suddenly Steven falls unconscious.

"Steven!" Lapis and Spinel call worried, jumping over the hybrid to try to figure out what was happening to him.

******

For a few moments, Steven's body feels floating in an absolute emptiness and when the hybrid opens his eyes, he only sees darkness "Where am I ?!" Steven asks surprised, his voice echoes a little, the hybrid moves floating around that empty place, until suddenly a small light stops him "Hello?" Steven asks, amazed by the sudden light.

"Hello" A voice responds, but it was not a human voice, but one that seems more feigned, as if an animal tries to speak but it only mimics the sound "You, a diamond" The voice claims with some surprise, Steven also begins to emit light by his own gem, but it was rather an involuntary reflex. More lights begin to appear, Steven identifies that they were gems.

"What are you all?" The hybrid asks surprised, but suddenly the light begins to look more solid, taking a strange physical form in front of Steven. The color of that nameless thing reminded the muscle, the flesh of a skinless body, causing a shiver to run down the back of the terrified hybrid.

"Diamond!" Instead of sounding like a voice, now there are hundreds of voices that scream. Steven's body begins to sweat uncontrollably, while the ears of the hybrid are pierced by so many voices. A very undefined mouth tries to eat Steven, but then it disappears from that emptiness.

******

"Ah!" Steven screams, waking up and getting up from wherever he was lying, only to crash head-on against Lapis "Auch" The hybrid exclaims surprised, rather than hurted, he's still sweating quite a bit "Lapis?" Steven asks surprised, noting that he had collided with the blue gem.

"Steven! You're fine!" Lapis exclaims surprised, she hugs the confused hybrid tightly "Spinel and I brought you here, I didn't know what was happening to you, but Spinel already told your mother. According to Spinel you have ... fever ... I think it was the word, we already took your temperature and according to her it was very high "The blue gem exclaims, there are different emotions in her voice, on the one hand she was worried and on the other she is a little confused.

"Wait ... What happened?" Steven asks curiously, the hybrid carves his eyes, it hurts, and he notices his rather heavy eyelids. Steven gets up, but almost instantly he feels the urge to sit back on the couch, despite all this, the hybrid notes that once again he is at Spinel's house.

"If I'm honest, I have the same question. You touched the gem of the red eye and suddenly you fell knocked out" Lapis exclaims surprised while she helps Steven lie down, the hands of the blue gem pass through the forehead and neck of the hybrid, Steven is curious about this but in reality Lapis is not quite sure that she does "How do humans measure their body temperature? I never did something like that, I think it's still high" The blue gem murmurs.

"It doesn't matter" Steven responds calmly but still quite ill "I have to tell you two what happened, it was very weird" The hybrid mentions seriously, attracting the curiosity of Lapis.

Lapis sits next to Steven, they wait a few moments until Spinel arrives "I have no idea what to give a human with a fever! So I spent everything I could in the pharmacy, and in passing chocolate suit" The pink gem exclaims releasing dozens of pills, syrups and other medications in front of the hybrid and the blue gem, to the surprise of both.

Lapis sits next to Steven, wait a few moments until Spinel arrives "I have no idea what to give a human with a fever! So I spent everything I could at the pharmacy, and incidentally, I brought chocolate" The pink gem exclaims releasing dozens of pills, syrups and other medications in front of the hybrid and the blue gem, to the surprise of both.


	23. Can you die from a fever?

Steven takes one of the pill bottles with his hand and reads the label carefully, it is a bit difficult to read because of his health, but with medicine one has to be careful "Spinel! These are not even fever medicines "Steven claims with surprise, leaving that jar on the table, while Lapis and Spinel looked at him curiously.

"Sorry, but the only time I studied medicine was when the bubonic plague was sweeping Europe ... I left after the first class because, it was very disgusting to see sick humans that way" The pink gem exclaims, looking at the medicines with curiosity "You're not going to die, right ?!" Spinel suddenly asks with concern.

"Why don't you just take all the medicines?" The blue gem suggests innocently, but the hybrid quickly denies.

"First, Spinel, technically a human could die of a fever, but in my case I have my vaccines up to date and a stable immune system, so we shouldn't worry too much. Secondly, Lapis, take all kinds of medicines whitout prescription or need is dangerous, "Steven explains calmly as he continues to review the medicines brought by the pink gem.

While the hybrid is dedicated to separating the medicines, Spinel directs her gaze towards the chocolate, she opens one of the wrappers and begins to split the chocolate into pieces, that crunchy sound attracts the attention of the blue gem "What is that? " Lapis asks curiously, a small smile is drawn on the face of the pink gem.

"It's chocolate" Spinel exclaims happily, she extends her arm to Steven, almost putting one of the pieces in the hybrid's mouth "Can a sick person eat chocolate?" The pink gem asks, although she has some mockery in her voice, there is also a little bit of curiosity directed towards her best friend, he knows more about diseases than she does.

"Let's say yes" Steven exclaims with a small laugh, taking the chocolate pieces offered by Spinel, the couple of friends enjoy that sweet, while Lapis observes curiously.

"Can I eat chocolate?" The ocean gem exclaims, so the hybrid brings some pieces to her "Thank you" Lapis exclaims as she snatches the chocolates from Steven's free hand, the hybrid and the pink gem watch the blue gem's reaction closely. More than chewing, Lapis swallows, but the look of impact on the blue gem is enormous.

"This is incredible!" Lapis exclaims excitedly, with enough surprise in her voice "Why didn't you two teach me this before ?! I almost felt offended" The blue gem claims with a touch of annoyance in her voice, but she is very busy savoring chocolate that melts inside her palate.

Steven and Spinel laugh while watching Lapis' reactions, in a short time the trio runs out of chocolate.

******

"I want more chocolate" Lapis exclaims begging her teammates, but to the bad luck of the blue gem, Steven and Spinel are not very interested in eating more sweets at that time, but they are both more focused on finding fever medicines of the hybrid "Steven ... Spinel ..." Lapis continues to call his companions, with the pink gem moving his hand away from the blue gem.

"Lapis, sweets are eaten from time to time, not all the time." Steven stresses maturity. "Are you sure you bought fever medicine?" The hybrid asks Spinel curiously, they had already accumulated a few medicines that had nothing to do with Steven's disease.

"I take almost an entire pharmacy, some fever medicine we have to have" The pink gem exclaims simply.

"What kind of monster would say you can only eat candy from time to time?" Lapis inquires with annoyance as she pulls Steven's jacket sleeve, the hybrid only pulls her away calmly, at times like those the blue gem would like to make a tantrum, although she was probably as old as Spinel. Lapis's gaze goes to the medicines.

"I found them!" The pink gem exclaims excitedly having found a jar with fever medicine, which she proudly delivers to the hybrid. Steven makes a small groan of disgust, in truth the hybrid does not like the pills, but because of the look of Spinel and Lapis, he takes out some to swallow them with difficulty.

"Agh, disgusting" Steven exclaims annoyed after taking the medicine. The hybrid lies on the couch, with a posture that would outrage Pearl for the lack of straightness on Steven's back. At first Spinel and her best friend are calm, but then they notice Lapis, the gem of the ocean had swallowed all medicines that were not for fever.

"... Lapis!" The pink gem and Steven exclaim in a hurry, they get up to try to get the medicines out of the blue gem's mouth, but Lapis runs away terrified, breaking Spinel's window in the process, since the blue gem jumps out of the house .

Lapis flies out, but she seems clearly in poor condition and unable to coordinate very well "... We must go to save her" Steven says with concern, but then his stomach growls and the hybrid clings to the pink gem "I think in some minutes, I'm going to throw up "Steven exclaims disgusted.

"I think you mean, saving Beach City from Lapis, an intoxicated gem can be a big problem" Spinel argues as she starts to lift the hybrid in her arms, she jumps through her broken window and stretches to run behind Lapis, while Steven's face takes a more greenish color.

Some pipes and public faucets begin to act strangely, because of the powers of the blue gem, which in her poorly controlled flight, makes her crash into some light poles. Behind her, Spinel stretches her arm to catch her by the waist, but it is difficult due to Lapis' erratic movements "Any ideas?" The pink gem asks with concern, she tries to stretch her fingers to cage Lapis into a kind of net, but the blue gem makes a stream of water that go against Spinel's eyes, allowing her to dodge the pink gem's movement.

Steven is about to throw up, but an idea comes to his head "Do you still have some chocolate?" The hybrid asks curiously, but Spinel quickly denies "Damn, ehhh ... Something that can distract Lapis" Steven tries to think, but his head is spinning. The pink gem solution is faster, she throws Steven against Lapis as if the hybrid were a ball.

Fortunately Spinel's aim was good, she makes the blue gem and the hybrid fall into a small park "Lapis!" Steven exclaims worried, his face was very green now and he has a hard time talking, but for his part Lapis is not in his best state either.

"Steven, you have many colors" The blue gem sentences while innocently running his fingers across the face of the hybrid, it is difficult to know if she speaks for the green color on Steven's face, or it was because Lapis is drugged "Are you okay?" The blue gem slowly asks "I don't think your eyes should spin" Lapis adds very slowly.

Then the hybrid vomits to the side of the blue gem, right in a bush of that little park "Vomit ..." Lapis exclaims calmly.

"It's good to know that you already know what is the vomit" Spinel exclaims arriving to her two companions, Steven is very incapacitated, so when the hybrid finishes, the pink gem lifts him in her arms, again. The blue gem approaches the vomit-covered bush "... Don't eat it" Spinel exclaims seriously, she also carries Lapis, but as if she were a sack.

"Spinel, I'm cold" Steven exclaims shivering, the pink gem go to sit on one of the park benches, making sure that the hybrid takes sunlight.

"Spinel ... you look like a spider" Lapis sentences as she touches the black lines under Spinel's eyes, and they actually cross her cheeks "You're weird" The blue gem sentence, while the pink gem is indifferent to the actions of her partner.

"You two don't worry, I take care of you" Spinel exclaims with a sigh, although in reality she smiles after a few moments, Steven is still sick and now he is quite cold while Lapis is drugged, but that shouldn't be much of a problem for the pink gem.

On the other hand, then Amethyst appears, the purple gem is mounted on a scooter "Spinel! How was your ... vacation?" Amethyst greets from the distance, but then she realizes Spinel's strange situation, with a hybrid snuggling up to her for his illness and a blue gem that touches her face "Do you want help?" The purple gem offers, meanwhile Spinel quickly accepts.


	24. I live on a beach

Amethyst looks very surprised as Spinel continues to lift Steven so the hybrid receives sunlight, as the purple gem had understood, when she was much younger as a gem, humans do not need sunlight like gems or plants. On the other hand, Lapis is now still drugged, so Amethyst turned his fingers into cats, with which the blue gem plays with emotion "Why do you make Steven get sunlight?" The purple gem asks.

"He is cold and I have no other way to heat him" The pink gem responds a little nervous, she stretches her neck towards Amethyst "Any ideas?" Spinel asks as she uses one of her fingers to scratch her chin, the purple gem looks at the pink gem in surprise.

"You could give him soup, or get him a blanket, or something" Amethyst responds with obviousness, Spinel is about to open her mouth but then she closes it again and nods.

"Actually those are better ideas" The pink gem calmly admits, receiving a look of surprise from the purple gem "Beware of Lapis" Spinel exclaims quickly.

Then the blue gem bites Amethyst's hand, because Lapis wanted to bite the cats "Ahhh!" The purple gem screams in pain "Spinel, please take Lapis away!" Amethyst begs quickly, but instead of help her, the pink gem leaves Steven aside, the hybrid's teeth shiver because of the cold he feels.

"I'm going to get a blanket or soup," Spinel says cheerfully as she leaves, while the purple gem has to tolerate how Lapis continues to bite her. Amethyst tries to shout several complaints against the pink gem, but she ignores it without compassion.

"Lapis ... Lapis stop" Steven mentions with concern, at the order of the hybrid the blue gem stops, Lapis stares at Steven, who makes a small greeting for her "Are you all right?" The hybrid asks with curiosity, he asks both gems, Amethyst for her part rubs her hand a little sore, she notices the fang marks on her wrist, the purple gem is surprised by this.

"Steven, I just ate the cats from Amethyst's hand" The ocean gem slowly exclaims "Is that good? ... Will I spit hairballs now?" Lapis asks curiously.

"I hope not," Steven responds calmly, while the blue gem looks at her own hands curiously. The look of the hybrid is fixed on Lapis, he tries to make sure that his friend does not try to eat anything else but then Steven notices Amethyst touching his shoulder "Sorry to cause problems, Amethyst" The hybrid exclaims quickly.

"Don't worry, friends are there to help each other" The purple gem responds, now she is less sore than before "But first, explain to me how this happened" Amethyst exclaims curiously, so Steven begins to narrate that he is sick and how Lapis, Spinel and he finished in that park.

"And then you asked Steven to explain how everything happened and he started with" Lapis exclaims as she tries to tell how the hybrid began to narrate the arrival of the group to that park, but Steven and the purple gem manage to make her shut up when Amethyst gives the blue gem her scooter "Wheels" Lapis exclaims as she spins the wheels of the small vehicle.

Amethyst sighs, glad that this time the blue gem did not bite her. A mocking smile forms on the face of the purple gem "How lucky are you, Steven. Don't you think? You've lately have spent almost every day with Spinel and Lapis. Do you love any of them?" Amethyst jokes as she approaches the hybrid.

"Of course not," Steven growls in response, although the hybrid cannot do it with the effusiveness he would like, his throat hurts. "We only work and talk," Steven adds impartially, while the purple gem adds stick out her tongue.

"You? Work? Why would you do that ?! You're sixteen years old and your family is a millionaire, I don't think you're working. You're just wasting your time. And you didn't even invite me to have fun with you!" Amethyst exclaims as she starts shaking the hybrid to have fun, annoying Steven, not only is he ill but he has to endure some mockery for the part of the purple gem.

"Amethyst, I meet with Peridot and you to play D&D every Saturday" The hybrid against argues "I'm just spending more time with Spinel and Lapis because we do other activities together," Steven explains indifferently, but then he sees Amethyst giving him a perverted look. "Not that kind of things." The hybrid growls again in response.

The purple gem lets out a loud laugh because of Steven's reaction, but then Lapis, who, to the surprise of her two friends, was very quiet, takes the hand of the hybrid and pulls it "Can we go to the beach?" The blue gem asks with curiosity "I want to go to the beach" Lapis declares slowly.

"Lapis, my house is on the beach. I live on the beach practically ... the city is called Beach City. Why go to the beach right now?" Steven answers seriously, but at his question the blue gem only lifts her shoulders. The hybrid sighs while Amethyst only lifts her thumb towards the excited Lapis.

Then Spinel appears "I did not find a blanket, but I found Lion" The pink gem exclaims while sitting on the pink animal on Steven, it was not a blanket, but at least Lion produces heat and is hairy, the hybrid hugs his pet calmly. Amethyst explains to Spinel the blue gem request, so the purple gem and the pink gem take Steven and Lapis to the beach.

******

"How much longer will Lapis be intoxicated?" Steven asks to Amethyst and Spinel, while they watch Lapis float on the shore and looking at the sky "I'm worrying a little" The hybrid emphasizes with concern, although fortunately, the pink gem had stretched her arm to have a kind of belt around the waist of the blue gem.

"There is no way to know, I never took medicine before" The purple gem responds while she rubs her nose.

Suddenly a wave rises along with Lapis "What the hell are we doing on the beach?" The blue gem asks curiously as she undoes the wave and walks towards her friends.

"Lapis, it's good that you're fine," Steven exclaims, although still in his rather weak voice.

"What?" Lapis asks with confusion as he cannot hear the words of the hybrid well.

"Let me explain to you what happened" Spinel exclaims stretching towards the blue gem, bringing it along with the rest of the group, now the sun was setting.

"Wait! I have an idea" Amethyst exclaims quickly, going to gather some logs, to the confusion of the rest of the group.

******

Now it was night, Amethyst had made a small fire, with the group resting peacefully around "I'm sorry I ate all the medicines" Lapis exclaims calmly "... I would do it again "The blue gem ensures, making the purple gem and Spinel laugh, while Steven just smiles sideways.

"We know Lapis, we know it" The pink gem exclaims as she pats Lapis's head.

"Hey, since we're here. Do you want to hear some horror stories?" Amethyst offers with a machiavellian smile.

The rest of the group nods calmly, not realizing that something begins to move under the sand, a small corrupt gem, which is heading towards the hand of the hybrid.


	25. Collecting pieces

A small corrupt gem, similar to a small pink stingray sticks to Steven's finger and begins to remove some skin "Auch!" The hybrid exclaims at the sudden bite of the corrupt gem, by reflex Steven sends the little corrupt gem to fly, which ejects a small bubble before its physical form is destroyed.

"What was that?" Amethyst asks surprised, since she was focused on telling her horror story and she only saw how suddenly the hybrid gave a little scream.

"I think something bit me" Steven mentions a little confused looking in the sand, but without finding anything "It must have been a bug or something" The hybrid mentions a little surprised seeing the little bite on his finger, the purple gem does not pay much attention to that detail, but Lapis and Spinel are surprised that something could bite Steven and that he felt pain for that, what bit him was not an ordinary animal.

Without that group noticing, the bubble thrown by the corrupt gem developed inside a small humanoid being, without defined features, the small humanoid came out of its bubble and hid, observing the hybrid and the gems. Amethyst tries to return to where she left her story, but Steven remembers something and gives Spinel a small whisper. The pink gem rises "Hey Amethyst, I'm going to take Steven home. Pearl will get hysterical if I don't" Spinel exclaims seriously and a hint of fear in her voice.

"Oh ... Oh sure, do it" Amethyst mentions with the same hint of terror in her voice as some drops of sweat fall down her forehead.

"I'm going with you two," Lapis exclaims as she places herself very close to the pink gem and the hybrid, which only nod indifferently. The purple gem says goodbye to the small group and they walk to the house of Pink Diamond, Steven helps his friends sneak through the window, not wanting to attract the attention of his mothers "Are we not going to warn that we are here?" The blue gem asks curiously.

"Not for now. Because you took drugs, I forgot to explain what happened while I was unconscious" The hybrid responds seriously, attracting the attention of Lapis, who like Spinel stands next to Steven. The hybrid tells the curious experience he had after touching the gem inside that mysterious eye.

The pink gem and the blue gem are surprised by Steven's strange narrative. "We have to tell Pink about it." Spinel exclaims surprised, at first the hybrid nods but Lapis quickly denies "Why not?" Spinel and Steven ask a little confused by the denial of the blue gem.

"We have no evidence to prove what Steven saw was true" Lapis responds simply "It's not that I don't believe you Steven, but I don't think Pink Diamond can do much with the vision you had when you were unconscious, we should investigate a little more. Maybe find another eye or some similar corrupt gem "The blue gem analyzes.

The hybrid and the pink gem nodded affirmatively after thinking a bit about Lapis' words, not realizing that the little humanoid entered through the window as well, running below the range, starting to gather fluff, dust, and any small material that it will come close to its reach. After thinking briefly, the group realizes that they have nothing "For now, I propose that we sleep" Spinel says calmly.

"Yes, it doesn't sound so bad," Steven accepts indifferently as he lies on his bed, meanwhile the pink gem falls asleep quickly, she just lay on the floor to sleep, while Lapis is next to the bed of the hybrid, doing nothing more than looking directly at Steven "Lapis ... Do you feel good?" The hybrid asks.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" The blue gem responds with curiosity, she leans a little, placing her head on the bed.

"Because I'm worried about your health, just that. You're my friend, so your well-being is part of my concerns." Steven responds calmly, but he receives a curious look from Lapis.

"Why? I understand that we are friends, I care about you, but you shouldn't worry about everyone in that way. Your friends are not just your responsibility, the feeling must be mutual, the units protect each other." The blue gem exclaims calmly, the hybrid only scratches his own neck without knowing what to answer, so Steven sighs "Steven. Are you afraid of something?" The blue gem asks curiously.

"Oh? ... Well, maybe some things, I guess" The hybrid responds calmly, but the ocean's gem look makes Steven understand what Lapis refers to "Yes, I have some fears about my family and friends, but I don't want to talk about it. "The hybrid exclaims a little awkwardly, while the blue gem remains silent for a few moments.

"Do you know what scares me?" Lapis asks, obviously Steven shakes his head "Everything has changed so much, that's scary on its own but now ... the gems seem so individualistic, I never thought I'd meet a Peridot to behave like, well ...like our Peridot, a fusion like Garnet, someone like Spinel or an Amethyst ... defective, no offense. But there is something worse, it means that... "The gem of the ocean runs out of words for the last part.

"Do you feel alone? Does that scare you?" Steven asks with concern, Lapis does not answer, but she nods briefly.

"That, and the small spaces" The blue gem adds, now Lapis's hands rest on the mattress. For his part, the hybrid only looks at the gem for a few moments, then Steven approaches his hand to Lapis hand. She looks at the hybrid for a few moments, Steven's face is serene and calm "Thank you" The blue gem exclaims as she takes the hand of the hybrid, they both have a friendly smile.

Then Lapis jumps on the bed of the hybrid "What's up?" Steven asks surprised.

"Something touched my foot" The blue gem exclaims in surprise, she then stretches a little towards the floor, without lowering of the mattress, looking under the bed "Ah!" Lapis exclaims when something jumps on her face, naturally the blue gem throws it against the wall quickly, it was a small humanoid being, covered in garbage, of the size of a table tennis ball "... What garbage is that?" Lapis asks surprised, now completely losing fear.

"I have no idea but I almost peed in my bed. You have to crush it" Steven responds after overcoming the panic that Lapis's actions gave him. The little humanoid makes a gesture to them, it is clear that the creature is looking for a fight. Steven takes a sandal out of his drawer, which Lapis throws at the creature, killing it on the spot.

"... Why do we face such weak opponents?" The blue gem asks, meanwhile the hybrid just lifts its shoulders with indifference "We ruined our little moment of friends ... Can I hold your hand again?" Lapis asks while lying next to Steven, who sighs and accepts "Thank you." The gem exclaims as she takes the hand of the hybrid again, he is covering himself with the blankets while Lapis remains uncapped, looking at the ceiling.

Then Pearl enters in the place, almost dragging Pink "Steven ?!" The white gem asks worried, the hybrid instantly releases the hand of the blue gem and throws her to the side of the bed, Lapis remains with her face to the floor "How are you Steven ?!" Pearl asks jumping to the hybrid and looking at the sick teenager.

"Hello," Lapis greets, Pearl has her feet on top of the ocean gem.

"Hello Pearl" Spinel greets waking up "We are already in the morning?" The pink gem asks a little confused "Hello Pink" Spinel greets the diamond, who only sees indifferent how her wife is checking the temperature of the hybrid with a thermometer. Pink corresponds to the greeting of the pink gem and remains silent.

"Yes mom, I'm fine," Steven replies, while Pearl, in turn, hugs her son tightly.

******

**[The next morning]**

"Where the hell were you ?!" Peridot asks Lapis worriedly, who is just sitting on Steven's couch eating with the hybrid and Spinel "Two days! Or well, almost two days, there are still a few hours left for that. But it was almost two days where I didn't I knew nothing about you! What was I going to say to Agate? " The green gem exclaims terrified.

"If Agate asks, I was busy" The blue gem responds indifferently as she continues to eat "Do you feel better Steven?" Lapis ignores Peridot's complaints and asks about Steven's status, the hybrid nods calmly.

"Now I am much better, I heal very quickly from diseases" Steven exclaims with joy.

******

**[Some days after]**

"It's been almost a week and we still haven't found anything" Steven complains as he walks along with Spinel to Peridot's apartment to pick up Lapis, tomorrow they both would have to take the blue gem to another meeting with Agate, although Lapis still not full integrated into society, for the authorities it was good to see that she seemed not to get into trouble, or at least not publicly.

"Surely we will find something, we just have to wait" The pink gem calmly sentences while she knocks on the door of Peridot's apartment, Steven sighs and nods, but then the duo sees Lapis open the door, the ocean gem has a Batman suit. " ...What do you want to do now? " Spinel asks.

"We're going to be superheroes, I'm Batman" Lapis sentences with emotion, then she throws Steven and Spinel other costumes "Steven is Superman, since his name starts with S ..." The blue gem thinks for a moment what she just say "Spinel could also be Superman, but Steven doesn't look good as Wonder Woman, so Spinel, you're Wonder Woman" Lapis says.

"... We are not going to disguise ourselves as superheroes" Spinel and Steven respond seriously, looking directly at the smiling blue gem.

In the end Lapis did not win this time.


	26. Lost (mini chapter).

Steven and Spinel see how the raindrops fall on the blue building where Lapis and Peridot are meeting with Agate, the duo is outside the building "We didn't bring an umbrella, what a bad luck" The pink gem sentences calmly as she stretches her hand, letting some drops fall on her palm. For his part, the hybrid is calm while he watches the rain fall, a small smile forms on his face "Please, don't start singing" Spinel claims quickly, looking at Steven.

First one step forward, and then the next "Would you at least dance with me?" The hybrid asks with a smile, he lets the rain soak him as he extends his hand to the pink gem. Spinel rolls her eyes for a few moments, but then she takes Steven's hand and he drags her to play in the rain.

Lapis sees from the window how the pink gem and the hybrid dance, attracting both of them the curious look of Agate "Oh my diamond, what a vulgar behavior. Also, the rain can bring diseases" The highest blue gem stands out with some surprise, while Peridot shrinks in her seat. The gaze of Lapis continues fixed on Spinel and Steven, there is a small grin on her face "Lapis, eyes fixed on our conversation" Agate claims.

"What?" Lapis asks surprised by the call of the other blue gem, Agate gives a small sigh "I'm looking at ... Steven and Spinel" Lapis mentions a little confused, it seems that something chokes in her voice, so she puts her hands together "It's weird, they're very close" The gem of the ocean exclaims, trying to sound indifferent, without much success.

"Naturally, that Spinel must be the jester of Pink Diamond. They both belong to a similar world, high society, nobility, luxury, whatever you want to call it" Agate mentions, she seems almost daydreaming, but quickly regains her composure, although there was a small blush on her face.

Lapis' gaze is lost for a few moments, she watches her two friends dance and sing in the rain.

A few minutes later, Peridot and Lapis leave Agate's office. The blue gem walks slowly, she can feel how the water falls on all Beach City, it was not a power, but rather a feeling, something strange and confusing, but certainly familiar to Lapis, she was very related to the bodies of water. Peridot feels nothing for the rain, she just walks towards the exit, going in front of her partner.

"Steven, Spinel!" Peridot calls with annoyance but her voice is overshadowed by much louder sounds, she tries not to get wet so she stays under the building, avoiding rain. Spinel and Steven don't notice the calls of the green gem "Lapis?" Peridot asks confused, so she sees where her partner is.

Lapis walks spreading her wings over her head, her feet get wet but the drops that fall on her wings disappear, preventing her from getting wet since the rainwater combines with her wings. The blue gem remains behind the hybrid and the pink gem, they are about to finish their routine, splashing with their feet with vivacity and joy.

Lapis's hand approaches a little towards the two of them, but quickly the blue gem stops, she recoils a little, betraying her presence with her splashes "Oh, hello Lapis" Steven greets when he turns his head, sending a smile towards Lapis, both he and Spinel stop "How was the reunion?" The hybrid asks curiously as the rain falls on him.

"... Never mind, I want to go home ... Peridot's home" Lapis sentence as she walks to Steven's side. The hybrid and the pink gem direct curious glances towards Lapis's back, but she doesn't answer, instead they look at how a desperate Peridot runs towards Steven's car. The green gem crashes her face against the door, while Lapis waits outside.

Steven and Spinel are going to open the car, to take the blue gem to Peridot's house.


	27. Let me drive my van (into your heart).

"Are you sure you feel good?" Steven and Spinel ask curiously as they leave Lapis and Peridot in the house of the green gem. The blue gem nods to the question of her friends.

"Do not worry, do not get sick singing in the rain" Lapis sentences with a smile, therefore the hybrid and the pink gem say goodbye to her, that day Spinel and Steven were surprised that Lapis did not want to go hunting monsters. She just wanted to stay indoors.

Peridot is working at the table, she has some screws, tools and traces of machinery to work on a project, she barely looks up, but the green gem knows that the blue gem is near "Do you want something, Lapis?" Peridot asks curiously, although in reality most of her concentration is on the work "I have to finish this for college" The green gem exclaims a bit annoying, while Lapis's gaze remains focused on her.

"Have you ever felt jealous that someone else spends time with your friend?" The gem of the ocean asks, Peridot remains in her work "I mean, I ... I am not part of Steven's life as Spinel does, I would be replaceable, she is not replaceable" Lapis mentions, her words attract a curious look by part of Peridot, the green gem finally deigns to see her companion.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Peridot asks without understanding what Lapis refers to, the blue gem finally sits in the chair in front of the green gem.

"I'm not sure, maybe it's the fact that I don't belong to the same world as Steven and Spinel or maybe it's just a sense of belonging to my first friend in the outside world," Lapis responds, receiving once again a confused look from her recipient. The fingers of the blue gem extend across the table with some discomfort "I want to strengthen my relationship with Steven more, I feel that I am not yet his friend" Lapis tries to clarify.

"...Why?" Peridot asks.

"Why do you ask so many questions? Are you deaf or dumb?" The blue gem responds, getting a look of annoyance from the green gem ".... I'm sorry" Lapis apologizes after a few moments, although she doesn't really feel the real need to apologize for her words.

"What I want to say is that, you spend a lot of time with Steven. I would say that you two are already friends" Peridot clarifies with simplicity, leaning a little on the back of her chair while Lapis stays with her back straight "In fact, I would bet that you are really jealous that Spinel can steal a possible boyfriend from you" Peridot starts to annoy, but this time it is she who gets confused looks.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I just want to have a closer relationship with my friend" Lapis responds, but Peridot's smile gives her a bad vibe. The green gem gives a little laugh, suddenly her face looks a bit flushed "Peridot, I think you're weird. It's not that that's bad, but you're weird" Lapis sentences calmly.

"Yes, you are no better than me" Peridot responds with pride and arrogance "But I, the great Peridot, will help you ... Because I want my new ship to become real, I will call it Lapiven" The green gem exclaims while she stands on the table with emotion, outside Lapis smiles, but inside she wonders what she just got into.

******

Peridot extends a map of Beach City in front of Lapis "Look, this is the map for the perfect date. You're going to pick him up at his house, take him here to eat, walk around here, here you two watch a movie and hold hands, and here ... Here you two kiss for the first time" The green gem precisely explains by tracing a path through different points marked on the map, looking innocently at the blue gem.

"...What the hell are you talking about?" Lapis asks confused, to which Peridot throws to her the map in the face.

"If you want to have a special place in Steven's heart, invite him on a date." The green gem responds as if it were obvious, but the blue gem doesn't understand the reasoning behind Peridot's words. "I know they barely know each other for three weeks, but I assure you that if you two have a date, everything will be much more fluid between you two ... and eventually you will get married, form a family and your children will call me aunt Peridot "The green gem exclaims with a catlike smile.

"... I don't know if your plans are too smart or too dumb for my understanding, but let's say I accept. How do I invite Steven to a friend date?" Lapis asks finally yielding to the strange ideas of Peridot, for a few moments the green gem lifts a finger, but then she goes back "You have no idea how" The blue gem ensures.

"Yes, I have an idea but I don't know if you can do it. We need some help, from someone who knows how dating between humans and gems works" Peridot mentions with emotion, for a few moments Lapis seems to have an idea of who refers her companion "It's not Steven, but almost" The green gem adds, leaving the blue gem with no idea who Peridot can refer to.

******

After taking an umbrella, Lapis and Peridot leave the hotel walking towards Greg's car wash "Greg!" Peridot and Lapis knock on the door of the van, listening to how something seems to move in bewilderment inside the vehicle "I think Steven's father was sleeping" Lapis mentions, to which Peridot nods. The green gem tries to knock on the van door again, but Greg just opens and receives a punch in the face.

"I'm sorry!" The green gem immediately apologizes.

"Don't worry, at least you have tiny hands" Greg mentions overcoming the small punch after the initial surprise "What are you two doing here? It's raining ... ehh ... Do you want to come in?" The adult asks a little confused, but Peridot and Lapis accept the invitation, entering Greg van "Hello" The adult greets.

"We need help," Peridot mentions, surprising Greg because someone required his help, rather than washing a car, a motorcycle or some other vehicle. "How do you invite Pink Diamond to a date?" The green gem asks with curiosity.

"Oh, wow. I'm surprised, only Steven had asked me that question" Greg mentions with a small smile "Well, I barely knew her, but after a music session I invited her to dance with me" The adult mentions with a hint of nostalgia. On the other hand, Peridot and Lapis are quite surprised that this is how Pink Diamond's relationship with that human worked in the past.

"Just like that? You invited the mayor of Beach City to a date as soon as you met her" Peridot exclaims surprised.

"One question ... Pearl and Pink Diamond were already married in that moment?" Lapis asks curiously.

"In my defense, I didn't know that Steven's mother was mayor at that time ... and I didn't know she was married either, but she never told me any of that, I found out later" Greg sentences a little awkwardly, but the gems are surprised "Why the question about how I invite Pink to a date?" The human adds with curiosity.

"Oh, I want to invite Steven on a date. How friends," Lapis responds simply, Greg widens his eyes at the statement of the ocean's gem. "So. Is there a way for me to learn how to make music to ask him for a date? Let's say ... tomorrow "Lapis asks curiously.

"Tomorrow? No, to learn to play you need some practice" Greg responds seriously.

"Can we put a song on a cell phone and appear outside Steven's window for her to ask him for a date?" Peridot asks pointing to the gem of the ocean, the human is a little confused by the specific question, but he nods with a little curiosity.

"Yes, but don't you think that's too little intimate? I mean ... it sounds a little, too artificial," Greg replies, Lapis and Peridot start thinking, for a few moments the human sees how they both seem to use the same awareness, just to fail to think something logical.

"... Can I pretend that I sing and play a song well?" Lapis asks "I'm sure that it takes less time to learn" The blue gem stands out, to which after a slight grin, Greg nods "Excellent" Lapis exclaims.

"Now we need the perfect song" Peridot exclaims as he goes to the human's discs, which waits to see the choice of the green gem and the blue gem. Although in the end Greg did not like it at all to be reminded that _that_ song existed, Lapis and Peridot chose a song made by Greg himself.

******

**[Two days later]**

Steven just got up and goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth, but while the hybrid takes care of his personal hygiene, he feels like his phone vibrates by a message. After finishing, Steven checks the message, finding that it was from Peridot "Something outside my window?" The hybrid exclaims with some surprise after reading the green gem's message "What has Peridot done now?" Steven thinks out loud with a little concern.

The hybrid then heads to his room once more, opening the window and finding Peridot and Lapis "Hey! It's been two days since I've seen you two. What happened?" Steven asks confused to see the two gems, with Peridot having her cell phone and a small keyboard, and Lapis with a guitar.

Lapis gestures to Peridot and she puts a song on her cell phone, also beginning to play some keys of that musical keyboard, while the blue gem begins to play some guitar chords. Steven immediately notices that neither of his friends knows how to play well, but he recognizes the song well and has a smile on his face. _Let me in drive my van (into your heart_ ) begins to sound.

"Steven! ... Do you want to go on a date ?!" Lapis asks with emotion while she lets the song play and she makes some small accompaniments, the question takes the hybrid by surprise.

"...Yes?" Steven responds surprised by the proposal of the blue gem, who instantly celebrates and takes out her wings, taking Peridot and flying towards the green gem's apartment. The hybrid receives another message on his cell phone "Our date is in this Friday" Steven reads aloud with some surprise "Wow, my first date" The hybrid exclaims surprised.

"Who was putting that music in front of the house?" Pearl mentions disgusted as she enters the living room of the house "Steven ?! Who put Greg's music? Literally nobody knows him" The white gem protests with surprise.

"They were Lapis and Peridot. Lapis invited me on a date" Steven replies indifferently, overcoming that his mother does not like his father's music. Pearl immediately puts her hands on her son's shoulders, Steven immediately notices how his mother doesn't quite agree with the idea, but that had to be discussed later.

******

"...Now what?" Lapis asks to Peridot curiously.

"... We have to get you decent clothes, money and know what you are going to do on the date" The green gem responds by taking out the map of Beach City once again, the blue gem sighs and sits once more next to Peridot. Lapis didn't expect the first date between Steven and her to be as complicated as Peridot plans.

******

"What?" Pink asks after Pearl told him about her son's first date.


	28. We barely know each other

"You can't go to that date" Pink Diamond says indifferently as she opens a can in front of Steven, the hybrid grinds his teeth a little.

"Why not?" Steven asks curiously, no doubt the atmosphere between his mother and him has always been tense, even for small details.

"You barely know her" The diamond responds quickly, highlighting that detail.

"That's not a valid argument, I know that in your first date with my dad you two barely knew each other" The hybrid against argues with a hint of obvious annoyance in his voice, naturally Pink doesn't respond well to the challenge, she frowns her face a litte "Why shouldn't I go with Lapis?" Steven continues to ask, a small mocking smile forms on the face of the hybrid.

"Because I say so and she is an old war criminal" Pink Diamond responds with obviousness, she leans a little towards her son, the diamond emanates a presence of superiority and authority since she is placed in a position superior to Steven, but the hybrid is not impressed and continues its challenge towards her.

"Don't treat me like I don't know anything about you, Pink. I know what your first date with my father was like, and you're not much better than Lapis when we talk about war crimes." Steven emphasizes, he's obviously upset with the diamond, that is offended "I will go" The hybrid declares seriously.

"Do you dare to compare me with a Lapis?! You're not going!" Pink orders angrily, she takes Steven by the ear as she drags him into his room, punishing her son and leaving him locked in the room. Steven sighs as he tries to open the door by moving the doorknob, it would be very easy for him to break the door but that would annoy Pink Diamond and maybe even Pearl, the hybrid lying on his bed facing the ceiling.

"It seems that Lapis annoys Pink ... I have a few ideas" The hybrid smiles maliciously, getting up to go to his closet "Let's see. What would look better for my first date?" Steven thinks out loud, laughing a little while looking at his repertoire.

******

**[The next day]**

Peridot takes Lapis to Garnet's store "So, how does someone dress for a date?" The gem of the ocean asks to the green gem with curiosity, while Garnet looks curiously at the two friends "Oh, hello ... I forgot it existed. I think I only saw her once" Lapis greets, only to speak later to Peridot without any delicacy.

"Lapis!" Peridot calls covering the mouth of the blue gem "Don't try to lick my hand" The green gem murmurs quickly looking at Lapis, the blue gem nods "Hello Garnet! Hi Garnet, hello ... Garnet. How are you doing?" Peridot greets a little nervous after Lapis' words.

"Hi girls. Do you need clothes for a date?" Garnet asks curiously, to which the green gem and the blue gem nod "Who is the lucky one? Or are you two?" The fusion asks again, Lapis points to herself while Peridot only points to the aforementioned blue gem "Oh, good for you Lapis" Garnet exclaims calmly "Well, if you want clothes for a date you can opt for something elegant or something that you like and look pretty. " The merger explains simply.

"Just that? Well, I will see the first thing I find" Lapis exclaims indifferently as she separates from Peridot, although the green gem insists that she should choose something elegant like a dress or a tuxedo, Lapis chooses an orange jacket that It looks very big and leather boots, in reality her style does not change much with those clothes.

"Hey! Garnet. Can you be like a pythoness and tell us how Lapis's date will go?" Peridot asks Garnet curiously, the merger is about to answer, but the blue gem is leaving the store immediately "Lapis wait for me!" The green gem claims running behind Lapis.

"... They didn't even tell me who Lapis was going to date," Garnet exclaims indifferently, but she quickly returns to work when more clients arrive, and clients that this time they have to pay.

"Don't you want to know the future? Believe me, it's very useful. Although Garnet sometimes predicts the future with a few moments in advance." The green gem exclaims as he walks behind Lapis, the blue gem simply sighs selflessly.

"Nah, I'm not interested in knowing about the future. I didn't trust Sapphires or anyone who can see the future, because they always come with the bullshit that fate can be changed and things like that. Why can they see the future then?" Lapis says indifferently, while Peridot tries against arguing her partner's distrust, but she simply ignores the comments made by the green gem.

******

**[The next day]**

Steven wears an elegant suit while he waits sitting in his room, the hybrid sends a message to Peridot for Lapis to wait in the apartment in The Barn. Then Steven keeps his phone in his pants, to prevent him from leaving, Pink had brought food to his room, but even the diamond is careless sometimes, giving him an apple was a big mistake. Steven takes a seed from the apple and spits on it, in a matter of seconds a small apple with a humanoid shape grows, the new being give reminiscent of the hybrid "Hey little friend, I need you to cover my place" Steven orders amicably while he is stroking the head of the Steven apple.

The apple makes a strange sound, it is growing to the rhythm that it looks like a four-year-old boy "I'll take that as a yes, bye" Steven says while looking out the window, Pink hadn't called or ordered anyone to watch outside, surely there would be guards around the mayor's house would make ask someone some strange questions or even call attention to problems the safety of the diamond and her family.

That situation is useful for Steven, who floats out the window to the hotel.

******

"Lapis, Steven is on his way!" Peridot calls quickly running all over her apartment, she collides with her own furniture while she is searching for the gem of the ocean. Lapis is playing with water in the bathroom "It can't be possible, you don't even have your clothes for the date!" The green gem exclaims with annoyance when she sees that Lapis is not wearing her jacket or boots.

"Maybe Steven would like me to don't have clothes at all." The blue gem jokes and laughs out loud, but quickly she is dragged by Peridot to dress. Lapis doesn't do much on her side, but finally she dresses for the date "Hey ... Where did I have to take Steven?" The blue gem asks curiously.

"We were reviewing that all day before!" Peridot claims furious and bewildered by Lapis' behavior, but clearly she is only bothering her partner "Don't play like that with me" The green gem exclaims, another loud laugh comes out of the blue gem's mouth.

Lapis stops when she hears someone knock on the door, Peridot raises her thumb to the blue gem while Lapis herself opens the door and there Steven is with a smile, almost instantly Lapis stops when she sees the hybrid with that clothes and that lovely smile "Lapis" Steven greets extending his hand to the blue gem.

In the past Lapis would not have known what to do, but she soon shakes hands with the hybrid "Steven!" The blue gem exclaims happily, but then she sees Steven approach and kisses her hand politely. Peridot only sees Lapis is still for a few moments.

"Lapis is doomed if I don't do something" Peridot sentences in a murmur while still hiding behind the kitchen. The hybrid for its part takes the lead and takes Lapis out of the apartment, without a doubt this was not going as Lapis and Peridot had planned. The duo was quickly followed by the green gem once they left the hotel.

***************************

_Warning: The following scene is an extra, and as such should not be considered as canonical within the fanfic. It’s just stupid humor._

"Lapis" Steven greets extending his hand to Lapis.

"Peridot, fast! What is Steven's charm level ?!" Lapis asks, she looks upset. 

"It's over 9000!" Peridot exclaims surprised.

"What?! 9000?! There is no way that can be right!" Lapis responds, but she then see Steven.

"The old Universe charm" Steven says calmly. Peridot sees how Steven is already flirting with Lapis.


	29. That is good.

"Steven, are you alright?" Lapis asks curiously, Steven looks around for a few moments but then the hybrid directs a smile towards the blue gem. Steven's hand surrounds Lapis's back, taking her side while they walk. "You're usually not that sticky." The blue gem mentions surprised as she passes her arm around the neck of the hybrid.

"Oh! I just want us to have a lovely date! Don't worry," Steven says with a small smile, Lapis still looks confused at the hybrid but he keeps his confidence. "Tell me. Where do you want to go to lunch? I pay." The hybrid calmly ensures, he puts his free hand in one of his pockets.

"Actually, I planned to take _you_ to eat something" Lapis mentions quickly with a slightly proud smile, she tries to take the lead abruptly changing the direction Steven takes, but then the hybrid mimics the gesture. They begin to simply go around in circles trying to guide the other in some direction, Peridot sees the show quite disappointed of her two friends.

The green gem is inside a garbage can, so she takes a can and throws it at either of them, colliding with the head of the blue gem. Peridot hides quickly while Steven and Lapis look at the can with curiosity "What if we are going to take a soda or something?" The hybrid offers, an offer that the blue gem calmly accepts, making them both walk towards a soda dispensing machine.

"Everything according to the plan" Peridot exclaims, but then she sees eyes peeking out of the garbage "Oh no" The green gem says as she sees rats appear in the garbage, which attack Peridot, who tries to escape quickly from there "Ahh!" Peridot screams as the rats begin to cling to the green gem's legs.

Steven takes out the soda from the machine, handing one to Lapis "This is a elegant first date. Don't you think?" The blue gem jokes with a hint of irony, winking at the hybrid. Steven lets out a little laugh at the joke, they both sip their drinks "Steven ... Do you like dancing?" Lapis asks curiously as she places her back against the machine, trying to appear as relaxed as possible.

"Of course. Are you inviting me to dance?" Steven asks smiling as he approaches the blue gem.

"No ... Of course not," Lapis responds trying to look away from the hybrid, but Steven laughs at the obvious of the attempt.

"Well, in any case, I would accept if you offered to dance to me" The hybrid declares with a tone of obviousness, the blue gem almost crushes the can in her hands when she notices that Steven knows her plans "Oh! Let's take a photo!" The hybrid suddenly exclaims, surprising Lapis by that gesture. Steven stands next to his date and prepares his cell phone camera to take a picture along with Lapis.

The blue gem smiles, showing her fang-filled smile to the camera while the hybrid shows a sweet smile. The flash is a little awkward to both of them, but at least they had taken some nice pictures, Steven looks at them a few moments before returning his cell phone to his pocket "Hey, then... Are we going to dance?" Lapis finally offers with curiosity, the hybrid nods calmly. Then the blue gem drags Steven to another site.

Peridot who had finally managed to get rid of the rats runs behind the couple of friends.

******

"... Don't be offended, but this place seems... not much safe" Steven mentions with surprise to see that the best place Lapis had to dance was a seemingly abandoned house, but in those concerns the blue gem mimics the sound of a gas with its mouth, dismissing the hybrid's complaints.

"Are you afraid? Of the house or of me?" Lapis exclaims with a mocking tone addressing to Steven, that is enough for the hybrid to quickly enter the house along with the blue gem. Steven's legs shake a little when Lapis enters in front of him, but then the face of the hybrid becomes an expression of surprise.

In that house there is already a radio to put music and a carpet that serves as a dance floor "... Peridot and you prepared this?" Steven asks with a hint of surprise, the blue gem tries to open her mouth, but then she closes it and simply nods "... Pfff, we just needed my cell phone to play music. What a nice detail from both of you" The hybrid exclaims with a smile, he extends his hand to the blue gem "Let's start?"

"Sure!" Lapis accepts taking the hand of the hybrid and then going to play music on the radio "You are taller than Peridot, but I think I can dance according to what we practice" The blue gem mentions, she raises the hand of the hybrid a little and she places her free hand on his shoulder. Steven smiles at Lapis, she gets lost for a few moments but quickly remembers the rhythm of the song.

The song Peridot and Lapis had danced was not even the one that was on the radio, but it was the only rhythm that the blue gem knew, while the hybrid is lost a little, making him seem more lost than Lapis "Oh no ... Come on, you can do it Peridot" The green gem mentions seeing the couple of friends from outside the abandoned house. Peridot concentrates and she uses her powers to change the song by moving the internal mechanisms of the radio.

"Wait, I already know this song" Steven mentions when he hears the original song that Lapis used to practice.

"Now you are competition" The blue gem mentions with an arrogant smile while the hybrid manages to match her in the dance. Friends' feet rumble against the floor while they dance across the carpet, naturally there are several laughs and jokes by Lapis and Steven, mainly related to their dance skills.

Friends take a couple of turns, separating and approaching many times "This is a bit strange" The hybrid mentions with a small laugh, attracting a curious look at the blue gem "We barely know each other but ... this doesn't feel so bad" Steven try to explain, although there is a hint of discomfort in the hybrid.

Lapis seems to think for a few minutes, the blue gem nods with a smile "I think it's good. You know? Not knowing each other, it gives us the opportunity to get closer, and do things like this. Dance in an abandoned house" Lapis exclaims with emotion , although her emotion quickly turns into a small laugh.

Steven is surprised by the reasoning of the blue gem, he smiles at her while the music is coming to an end, by that time, it was already late. For a few moments, time ceased to matter, Lapis and Steven continued dancing, but then the house almost fell on them after having moved so much inside "... Are you all right?" The blue gem asks curiously after they see how the house continues to fall apart.

The hybrid dusts off his clothes "Yes ... That radio and that carpet were yours or Peridot's?" Steven asks curiously.

"Peridot, so it doesn't matter. Let's go to eat" Lapis exclaims as she takes the hand of the hybrid and she takes him out from there. Peridot runs out of hiding and tries to recover her radio, but the rats reappear behind her.

******

Steven extends a spoon with ice cream to Lapis "Open your mouth" The hybrid exclaims calmly, the blue gem follows Steven's instructions and he deposits the scoop of ice cream in the mouth of Lapis to eat.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat too?" The blue gem asks curiously, but Steven denies indifferently.

"I'm not very hungry, I enjoy this a little more" The hybrid says, he laughs a little while he continues to feed Lapis.

"I don't complain, more ice cream for me" The blue gem exclaims.

Peridot is watching everything, and she, with visible annoyance after being attacked by rats so many times, approaches her two friends. They are surprised that the green gem is there "You two, kiss or this will not have been worth it" Peridot orders with annoyance but then more rats appear "Ahhhh!" The green gem runs chased by the rats.

"... What the hell happened?" Steven asks confused.

"Don't ask me" Lapis exclaims just as confused as the hybrid. "Can we keep eating ice cream and ignore that happened?" The blue gem mentions, and Steven nods as he continues to fill the spoon with ice cream. The hybrid also takes some photos of that moment.

******

**[A few hours later]**

"...We are friends?" Lapis asks as she walks next to Steven, the hybrid directs a curious glance at the blue gem. The streets are surprisingly empty after the scandal made by Peridot being chased by an army of rats.

"Weren't we friends before?" Steven asks curiously.

"I mean ... close friends, like you and Spinel" Lapis exclaims in response, she holds some strands of her hair. The hybrid is not sure why, perhaps it was an eccentricity of the blue gem or some reflection of shame, he has no way of being sure. Steven brings his hand towards Lapis, the blue gem removes her hands from her hair and she takes the hybrid's hand curiously.

"Did you make this date just to be closer to me?" Steven asks with some surprise, Lapis shrinks, her eyes look away to the floor "Lapis, it wasn't necessary. Closeness comes with time. Despite that, I already consider you my friend ... But I really enjoyed this day!" The hybrid exclaims animatedly, he lifts Lapis's face with his hand, causing her to look at him. Steven smiles at the blue gem.

"... I also enjoyed this day ... I think, I was a little jealous. You are the first friend I have in the outside world, my relationship with other people is not so good, in the strict sense of the word. There are some exceptions, like Peridot... I think that this was really a silly idea" Lapis mentions with a small laugh, she bumps her forehead against the forehead of a curious Steven.

"It was not a silly idea" The hybrid says, their faces are getting too close. Steven begins to lower his shoulders and his hand, while Lapis continues on him, the blue gem and the hybrid stand still for a few moments, his breath floods the air between them. Lapis remembers Peridot's words, she sighs and then gives a light kiss on Steven's lips, it's actually the first time she does something like that.

But Steven continues the kiss, he doesn't have much experience either but his face starts to burn while his lips are with Lapis's. The blue gem takes the neck of the hybrid's clothes, Lapis's tongue begins to enter Steven's mouth as they share that kiss.

The hybrid separates when he needs oxygen, his eyes look directly at those of the blue gem "... I ruined it, right?...I ruined our relationship?" Lapis asks, her serious tone does not let all her emotions be discerned but she sees Steven's eyes directly, there seems to be something wrong.


	30. Everything to bother her.

Walking to Peridot's apartment was a bit too much awkward for Lapis, or at least she feels it in that way, Steven is not talking, but he had insisted on accompanying her home "The hotel staff seems to be less than before" The hybrid mentions sideways, a small detail that the blue gem was not sure if it was correct, but in general she did not know the building staff in detail. Surely Steven noticed due to years of being in that place.

Finally they both arrive at the door of the green gem, it is difficult to know if she is inside or not "Steven ... Are you alright?" Lapis asks curiously, she stops and takes the arm of the hybrid. He tries to look away. "Look, I know I risk our friendship by doing that but...it's complicated. Is that what humans say? I don't know, I guess I moved by instinct ... and I think Peridot conditioned me a little" The blue gem tries to explain.

"Lapis. Do you love me?" Steven asks curiously, Lapis is speechless.

The hybrid shrinks for a few moments, he puts his hand in his pocket, he seems to squeeze something hard "...Yes. In some sense, I love you. I'm not sure to what extent exactly" The blue gem responds. Steven makes a confused face for Lapis, she wants to see what the hybrid does, so the blue gem doesn't let go of his arm "Steven. What did I do wrong?" Lapis asks with confusion.

"Nothing, there is no problem with you Lapis" Steven responds with apparent calm, meanwhile a sarcastic laugh escapes from the blue gem.

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Lapis mocks those words with irony, but the hybrid gives her a friendly smile. The blue gem raises her hand, from the arm of the hybrid. She places her hand on Steven's neck and leans a little, placing her face closer to the face of the hybrid "...And you? Do you love me?" Lapis asks, she swallows, both stand a little against Peridot's door.

Steven's free hand is placed behind the neck the blue gem, a small shiver runs through Lapis's body "...I don't think I love you in the same way...This is not fair to you, I'm so sorry" The hybrid mentions very sorry, the blue gem is paralyzed. Steven awaits the next action of Lapis.

"...Why?" The blue gem asks, she apparently is indifferent to the answer.

"... I just don't love you in a romantic way, you're more of a dear friend to me." The hybrid responds by crashing her forehead against Lapis's, she remains silent, but suddenly the blue gem proceeds to kiss Steven once more. Placing the hybrid even more against the door. Lapis's lips take Steven by surprise, mainly as she begins to bite his lower lip.

When the blue gem finishes biting, she begins to continue pressing her lips against those of the hybrid. Lapis's viper tongue begins to enter without opposition inside Steven's mouth, he can't do much against the movements of his partner. From the mouth of the hybrid come a couple of moans drowned by the kiss, Steven's face turns red while the blue gem stops a little surprised, she laughs slightly. Then Lapis and Steven realize a group of Amethysts across the hall, seeing everything "... Are you going to continue watching or are you going?" Lapis challenges calmly.

The Amethysts leave, although they have to drag one who wanted to be seen.

"... Oh my God. I, God, I'm sorry Lapis" Steven covers his face with his hands.

"Hey, yes, that was embarrassing, but I can't ruin our relationship any more than it is" Lapis exclaims, gently running her hand over the back of the hybrid, but he quickly denies.

"Lapis, our relationship is not ruined. I like you, I like spending time with you" Steven explains, he tries to get his hands off his face but he is very flushed "It's just, friends don't kiss in that way" The hybrid try to explain, the blue gem tries to look the other way "... You did nothing wrong Lapis, I really enjoyed this date very much. Just please, don't try to press me against another door" Steven mentions, he stretches one of his hands towards the blue gem .

"... I could ask you if against the wall is better, but I guess the joke is out of place" Lapis responds by taking the hand of the hybrid, there is a small squeeze between them two "Goodbye" The blue gem says goodbye to Steven, he leaves the hall while Lapis enters the apartment, only to find Peridot lying on the floor "Did you hear everything?" The blue gem asks.

"Yes, but I need a context to know what the hell happened" The green gem mentions with emotion from the floor "You kissed Steven! At certain time it seemed a sexual assault but I think you two are completely consensual with each other" Peridot she mentions surprised and excited she gets up, then the green gem takes Lapis to the couch.

"Peridot, I think I made mistakes with Steven" The blue gem says, suddenly she seems to have a lump in her throat "Can I call Agata? I think I need to talk" Lapis exclaims quickly, a confused Peridot does not take long to go get the phone to call the other blue gem.

******

While Steven goes down the stairs of the hotel, he checks the photos with Lapis, the hybrid swallows saliva "...Come on Steven, you can do it" Steven declares, then he selects the photos. The hybrid sends the photos to Pink Diamond. Steven doesn't wait to see if his birth mother sees the message, he saves the phone and runs away.

At the house on the beach, Pink breaks the door of her son's room to find a humanoid apple shaped like Steven. That night Pink Diamond made applesauce with the creation of the hybrid, while she in turn explodes in a ball of fury that only Pearl and later Yellow Diamond can help contain.

Far from what would probably be the greatest punishment of his life, Steven knocks on Spinel's door "I need to talk" The hybrid tells the pink gem, she curiously invites Steven to pass.

"You are always welcome in my house. What happens?" Spinel asks curiously.

The hybrid proceeds to sit on the sofa of the pink gem, Spinel attends next to Steven so he starts talking "... I had a date, with Lapis. Supposedly it was simply to spend time together, as friends...We...We kiss, and she... she loves me. At least she says she does" Steven tries to explain, while Spinel is amazed. The pink gem smiles.

"Amazing, Steven! You have to tell me in more detail" Spinel exclaims, but then she notices the look of the hybrid "Oh ... You don't love her romantically, well, I guess that makes some sense" The pink gem mentions with surprise, trying being empathetic with Steven "Did you tell her?" Spinel asks with concern.

"Yes, but that's not the problem" The hybrid mentions "...Pink forbade me to go on that date with Lapis, and I...use her to send this to Pink, just to annoy her, to annoy Pink" Steven explains, passing then her cell phone to the pink gem, she has no words while curiously examining the photographs "... I use a person, Spinel! I am a...awful person" The hybrid begins to cry, trying to dry her tears.

Quickly Spinel throws the phone aside "Hey Steven, you're not a horrible person. Come on, you're the best person in all Beach City, you've done a lot of good for others." The pink gem stretches around Steven in a hug.

"No Spinel, a good person does not use his friends in that way" The hybrid sentences with a hint of annoyance "I don't know why I continued with that idea, my problems with my mother get out the worst of me. What do I do now? What happens if I ruin my friendship with Lapis for a simple personal revenge?" Steven exclaims pulling his weight angrily against the sofa, the springs are heard squeaking.

"Oh come on, I don't think she would ever hates you. You just have to explain her that you had an emotional slip, I'm sure Lapis can understand it." Spinel exclaims conciliator, she pats the hybrid on the back. The pink gem stretches a hand to retrieve Steven's phone, showing the hybrid the photos "You two seem very happy" Spinel exclaims smiling, some small tears still continue to fall down Steven's face.

"... Can I sleep here?" The hybrid asks hugging the pink gem.

"Yes" Spinel accepts calmly. There are a few minutes of silence between them, just sharing that hug. "You're better than Pink. Remember that Steven." The pink gem sentences as Steven snuggles on the couch.

******

"Lapis, it's night" Agate sentences with boredom while she is receiving the call of Lapis.

"I know but you're the most mature person I know... and by the way the only one who is willing to talk to me, and at this time" The blue gem responds, she hears Agate sigh on the other side of the phone.

"Thank you I'm willing to talk to you" Agata exclaims indifferently "Did something happen that you want to report to the civil service?" Agata asks with a formal tone and with some concern, Lapis thinks her words for a few moments, in which Agate waits patiently.

"I think you were never in this situation, but I had a date." The blue gem explains, but she quickly offends Agate.

"Are you implying that I can't get a date?" Agate asks annoyed.

"Yes" Lapis responds indifferently. "I think someone would have to have a series of very specific fetishes, or be blind and deaf to invite you on a date. But we are not talking about your love life, we are talking about mine." blue gem exclaims seriously, she hears as Agate growls on the other side of the phone "Look ... I invited Steven on a date, like friends, there were no more intentions than that but...I just kissed him, and I think now I ruined my friendship with him "Lapis explains.

"You did what?!" Agate asks confused and surprised.

"Pay attention" The blue gem claims "I invited Steven on a date ... and I kissed him" Lapis explains again "The problem is, he doesn't love me, and I'm a little confused, I think I ruined my friendship with Steven, I would say I love Steven but...it's so sudden, I don't know if it's jealousy, a sense of belonging or something else, maybe because of Steven's personality and our short time together. I don't know" The blue gem exclaims.

"... Tell me please that you didn't sexually assault Pink Diamond's son" Agate exclaims ignoring everything Lapis previously said.

"No!" The blue gem responds annoyed "... Everything was consensual" Lapis assures calmly "...This is kept confidential, isn't it?" The blue gem wants to make sure.

"Yes Lapis" Agate says, she still confused "But let me understand...Did you just kiss someone who doesn't love you? I don't think I understand the problem," Agate says curiously.

"That is not the problem, the problem is that I do not know what happens to Steven and I think I could ruin our friendship for having kissed him while he does not love me, in the same way I do...Although I am weird" Lapis tries to explain once again, she sighs a little exhausted, for the first time in thousands of years the blue gem feels tired and a strange weight on her shoulders.

"Lapis, I know you're weird" Agate calmly admits, Lapis growls on the other side of the phone "But listen, confessing to a person who doesn't love you romantically is normal, it happens all the time. You effectively put in danger the previous relationship of friendship for doing that" Agate mentions, instantly the blue gem is even more tense "But everything can be solved by talking, if you have concerns, you should discuss them with Steven, he may not love you, but if you two started a friendship, there are reasons for you two try to keep it. If you continue to have problems, don't do crazy things and call here "Agate explains calmly and kindly.

"...Thanks Agate" Lapis says goodbye.

"You're welcome" Agate corresponds the gesture. The call ends, the blue gem leaves the kitchen.

"What did she say?" Peridot asks curiously from the couch, but Lapis jumps to the apartment hammock, suddenly she starts snoring, surprising the green gem "Lapis?...Are you sleeping?" Peridot surprised question approaching Lapis, it was the first time the blue gem sleeps. The green gem approaches a finger, but she is almost bitten by Lapis, even asleep, Lapis is a dangerous gem.

******

**[The next day]**

Pink takes her lunch at Yellow's office, the yellow gem sees her younger sister start eating "... How did you not notice that your son left his room and left a humanoid apple to replace him?" Yellow asks surprised, meanwhile Pink tightly squeezes her lunch. Throwing a little of the sandwich ingredients on Yellow's desk, the older of the gems couldn't tell if it was involuntary or on purpose.

"Do you remember when I take Steven to fish?" Pink asks curiously, Yellow nods. The yellow gem does not understand the apparent change of subject, but before asking, her younger sister interrupts her "During that trip Steven refused to talk to me and he simply communicated with grunts or strange noises. So I confused the sounds of the humanoid apple with Steven's sounds" The pink gem explains.

"... I am sincerely surprised that Steven was able to fool you" Yellow mentions, receiving a growl from Pink Diamond in response "Do you know where he is now?" The yellow gem asks curiously.

"No, Pearl is worrying. We already called Greg but he doesn't know anything. Did your workers see anything?" Pink questions curiously.

"No, I sent many of my Amethysts and other gems to collect information about corrupt gems, so other businesses have been losing personnel." Yellow responds calmly. "Also, my Amethysts reported finding some things out of place in Beach City's storage units ...Why does your ex lover have a cannon?" The yellow gem asks curiously while Pink almost chokes on her food.

A few minutes after some strange explanations, Pink and Yellow walk around the hotel, it's almost noon. Upon entering a corridor, the pink gem is face to face with Lapis "... Pink, please, don't kill her in my hotel, that would lower the price of the building" Yellow mentions placing her hand on one of the shoulders of The pink gem.

Lapis runs to the elevator, chased by Pink Diamond. Fortunately, the blue gem enters earlier and manages to close the elevator door, although it would be easy for the diamond to break that elevator, damaging private property in such a way was not her main intention. Pink Diamond runs down the stairs trying to intercept the blue gem, but in the middle of the road Lapis opens the elevator doors and slides another floor of the hotel.

Then Lapis enters another guest's apartment and jumps out the window.

******

"Do you want me to accompany you?" Spinel asks patting Steven's back as the hybrid prepares to leave.

"No, I think this is very intimate" The hybrid kindly mentions "Thanks for the support, Spinel" Steven exclaims smiling at the pink gem, who says goodbye to her best friend calmly.

****************************************************

_Warning: The following scene is an extra, and as such should not be considered as canonical within the fanfic. It’s just stupid humor._

Lapis and Pink Diamond are dressed as cowgirls, facing each other, with their weapons ready "Last words?" The diamond asks to her opponent.

"When I finish with you, your son will call me mommy" Lapis exclaims perverted.


	31. Independence.

Escaping from Pink Diamond shouldn't be an easy task, but Lapis had her tricks, the blue gem's strategy was to run to Spinel's house to get protection while the diamond didn't find her or something similar "Spinel!" Lapis calls through the window of the house of the pink gem, which was sitting watching television.

"Lapis! What are you doing here ?!" Spinel asks surprised getting up to receive her unexpected guest.

"It's a long story. I think I have to live with you now" Lapis exclaims quickly as she goes to hide in the kitchen, the pink gem only stretches to look at the blue gem, which stares at her without a word.

"... Let me guess, after your date with Steven you met Pearl or something and now you're terrified of returning to Peridot's apartment" Spinel inquires with concern, in fact the pink gem is quite terrified with the idea of the white gem chasing Lapis. Pearl could be similar to a mercenary or a kind of soldier to put it simply, describing her as a Predator was also an option in Spinel's mind.

"No ... After my date with Steven, I met Pink Diamond and now I'm terrified of returning to Peridot's apartment" The blue gem explains simply.

"Oh, that's a little better than meeting Pearl" Spinel exclaims with a little sigh of joy "Did you meet Steven on the way here?" The pink gem asks curiously, attracting a slightly confused look from Lapis. After a few moments, Spinel sighs with disappointment "Ok, look. Steven was here recently and went looking for you, he has to talk to you to solve some things" The pink gem explains seriously.

"... Did he go to the hotel?" Lapis asks worried, but Spinel has no answer "I also have to talk to Steven... I'm going to look for him, thanks for the information. I hope we all go to hunt monsters again, after this" The blue gem sentences with gratitude, she says goodbye of the pink gem and jump out the window again. Spinel proceeds to go through some material or sheet to cover her window, while Lapis searches for Steven's trail.

Not far from there, the hybrid is about to enter El Granero. Steven takes a breath and enters, just to find Pink and Yellow at the reception, the look between the three diamonds quickly tightens, the hybrid sighs and walks forward, just as Pink quickly goes to her son "You are in big problems" The diamond declares seriously, she points her finger at Steven's face, but he quickly removes Pink's finger.

"... Shut up, I am upset that I am a little like you" Steven says in response. Suddenly the situation only becomes more tense as mother and son turn an even more pink than usual, Pink seems to smile while Steven frowns. Yellow is removing as many people as possible from the building.

******

When Lapis approaches the hotel, the entire hotel is closed, as are the nearby streets, but the blue gem flies over the Amethyst guard, and heads curiously to the hotel, only to find the ruined reception, with Pink Diamond and Steven in the middle, the two separate, visibly upset "I give you a week!" The diamond proclaims angrily through the right wall.

"Goodbye!" The hybrid sentence passing through the other wall, leaving a very confused Lapis. The blue gem goes to Steven, following the obvious path he left. Actually the hybrid had not separated much, but he is visibly concentrated, his skin is bright pink, his teeth grind and his fists are tightly clenched.

"Steven?" Lapis asks with surprise and whit much curiosity, the mention attracts Steven's attention. The look of the hybrid and the blue gem meet, for a few moments there is silence, but then an excited Steven approaches Lapis.

"Lapis!" The hybrid exclaims happily jumping towards the blue gem. Lapis and Steven extend their arms and give each other a hug, the hybrid suddenly realizes what he just did and separates "I'm sorry, I didn't come to hug. I want to talk to you about something," Steven explains, to which the blue gem nods calmly.

"Spinel already told me, I also wanted to talk to you," Lapis exclaims, surprising the hybrid a bit at the mention of the pink gem. The pair of friends separates a little, the blue gem looks back to see all the destruction in the hotel "... You also have to explain what happened here" Lapis adds curiously, while the embarrassed Steven has a few drops of sweat falling down his forehead.

"Yes, you see...I had a fight with Pink... Now I have no home" The hybrid explains with some annoyance when he is mentioning the diamond, while the blue gem has her eyes open of surprise "I challenged her and she kick me out of the house"Steven exclaims surprised, for a few moments he doesn't know what to say "Independence!" The hybrid exclaims with emotion.

"Independence!" Lapis exclaims along with Steven. The hybrid and the blue gem laugh for a few moments, so they decide to focus on the important thing "Steven, I understand if you don't feel the same about me. But ... Can we still be friends?" Lapis asks curiously, extending her hand to Steven. The hybrid quickly takes the blue gem's hand with his hands, squeezing hard.

"Yes, but first ... I want to apologize, I did bad things, I used you for selfish purposes" Steven proceeds to explain his mistakes to Lapis, she listens carefully, the blue gem does not release any words while the hybrid speaks "...I'm going to amend my mistakes" Steven exclaims seriously, stroking Lapis's hand lightly.

"... I forgive you, with one condition" The blue gem exclaims calmly, she passes her arm around the neck of the surprised hybrid.

"Which condition?" Steven asks curiously.

"You owe me a real date" Lapis exclaims with a cheerful smile, the hybrid laughs a little.

"You're clever, it's okay. We have a deal" Steven accepts, hugging the blue gem once again. Then they both run as more people, including Yellow Diamond appear. Lapis and the hybrid are heading towards Spinel's house.

******

"... Now where do you plan to live?" Lapis and Spinel ask Steven, the small group is eating at the house of the pink gem at that time. The hybrid lies against the chair for a few moments.

"Maybe I will go with my dad" Steven responds indifferently, although in reality a small smile on his side is formed "Although, I would not like to bother my dad, surely that would bring him problems with mom and Pink" The hybrid mentions with annoyance

"You can go to live with Peridot and me" The blue gem exclaims with emotion.

"My house is also available for you" The pink gem adds with joy. Steven kindly smiles at his friends, but before he speaks, Peridot calls him from his cell phone. The trio answers the call, with the hybrid putting the green gem on the speaker.

"What the hell did you do?! Now I'm afraid to continue living in the hotel with Yellow Diamond so angry!" Peridot claims terrified, instantly panicking, Steven cuts the call.

"... You are all invited to my house" Spinel adds calmly. Steven and Lapis look at each other for a few moments, so they send Peridot the location of the house.

Everyone ends up in the pink gem house, for now

******

Peridot is hiding in Spinel's bathroom, while the pink gem, Lapis and Steven are wasting their time "Hey, I'm going to visit my father, I'll be back in a while" The hybrid mentions happily, then saying goodbye to the blue gem and Spinel, they stay at home calmly.

Then the figure of Pearl appears in the window a few minutes later, looking directly at Lapis and Spinel, who scream in panic at the sudden appearance of the white gem.

****************************************************

_Warning: The following scene is an extra, and as such should not be considered as canonical within the fanfic. It’s just stupid humor._

"So. Are we still friends?" Steven asks happily.

"With benefits, of course" Lapis responds calmly while the hybrid is surprised.


	32. Dad, I live to collect money from fountains in squares.

After finding that his son was fine, Greg sits in a chair to chat with Steven "I need a job, dad. Can I work here?" The hybrid quickly explains, surprising his father, partly because of how direct he is on that subject.

"You didn't have a job with Lapis and Spinel? Why would you need a second job so early in life?" Greg asks a little confused, although he has a smile for thinking of his son helping him daily in the car wash.

"Dad, my only salary consists of the coins of the fountains of squares and donations of the people, that doesn't give me enough to live" Steven tells his first argument, that makes sense to Greg "And on the other hand I want to bring a little more money because I want to help my friends...how to explain it...I fought with Pink and she kick me out of home. Now I live with Spine." The hybrid explains, if Greg had been drinking something at that time he would have spit it all out

"Wait. What?! Is that legal ?!" The adult asks worried.

"Well, I'm sixteen, so really, yes, it's legal, by the laws of the state of Delmarva" Steven explains calmly, receiving a confused look from Greg who can't believe that is legal "I don't know why you are surprised, since I was 14 I can legally hold a wedding between two people and things like that" The hybrid mentions.

"... In that you are right but it still makes no sense to me, perhaps because I am not a Beach City native ... Well, then I see no problem for you to work here. Do you want to start tomorrow?" Greg accepts with emotion, as does Steven, who gives a hug to his father, although they quickly separate to keep it a little more professional.

******

Spinel stretches a little nervous, removing the sheet that covers his window, finding a strange bird with very long legs, his silhouette looked a lot like the figure of Pearl "... What the hell is this? A flamingo?" Lapis asks surprised while the pink gem sighs relieved that it is not the white gem.

"No, this is not a flamingo" Spinel mentions with a small laugh "Wow! I thought it was Pearl, its silhouettes look very similar. Don't you think, Lapis?" The pink gem jokes stretching towards that strange bird that flies out terrified of Spinel's house. Lapis also laughs at that strange bird, nodding at the animal's resemblance to Pearl.

"I am behind of you two, here" Pearl exclaims seriously. Lapis and Spinel stand still, when they turn they see the static white gem behind them "Steven. What did you do to him, Lapis?" Pearl asks stepping forward, the pink gem shrinks while the blue gem quickly looks at possible escape routes, but she already has the white gem's eyes on her.

"Well, that's a very good question" Lapis mentions with a small smile, surprising Pearl a little by the sudden change of mood, the blue gem seems to go from being a prey cornered to a normal person, as normal as is possible to her "First we went to drink something, not alcohol of course. After that I took him to dance, he dances very well by the way, and then we went to eat..." Lapis explains in the most charming way she can be, but of her mouth slips a bit of saliva.

"... Did you know that Steven was forbidden to go?" Pearl asks seriously, she takes another step toward the blue gem.

"No, I found out later" Lapis explains with a smile, but the white gem frowns.

"I don't believe you, my baby is a complete gentleman, he would never escape from home" Pearl mentions with annoyance.

"...Gentleman you say. But he and I kissed in a way in front of some Amethysts that is many things, but it was definitely not gentlemanly" Lapis exclaims with surprise, but she quickly bites her tongue, Spinel looks with obvious concern to the blue gem. While Pearl is still and smiling, staring at Lapis "... I should run" The blue gem mentions and she flies out the window, but the white gem is chasing her with her spear in hand "Does she have a spear ?!" Lapis asks surprised while trying to escape Pearl more quickly.

******

Minutes later, Lapis is on a fire escape next to a building, she looks in all directions, without finding Pearl, but then the white gem comes out of a hole in the wall, made by her "Wow, I never thought to see a Pearl doing this" The blue gem mentions surprised, perhaps as a kind of flattery "By any chance, you are a kind of soldier or something? I see unbelievable that you are not one" Lapis adds curiously.

"My past is none of your business" Pearl responds indifferently "Listen Lapis, I want to be reasonable, stay away from my son and we have no reason to not get along" The white gem exclaims running her hand down the metal of the stairs, Lapis sweats a little, but not for fear, but she sweats more trying to contain herself from saying a few words.

"We shouldn't be enemies or something, I want to be your daughter-in-law...I have to control my tongue a little more...literally and figuratively, I put it all over Steven's mouth...Twice..." Lapis She mentions and she instantly regrets opening her mouth so much, showing her fangs to the altered Pearl. The white gem does not know what to say, but the blue gem quickly jumps, falling on someone "Peridot!" Lapis exclaims surprised.

"Hello" The green gem greets crushed "Let's get out of here now!" Peridot insists rising quickly along with the blue gem, but Pearl is again behind them "...Do you have any idea how she does that?" The green gem asks scared, she uses her magnetic powers to bring the lid of a garbage can she uses as a shield.

Pearl is not impressed, she points her spear and a laser comes out of it, making a hole in the metal, instantly Peridot is hiding terrified behind her friend "... You were very helpful Peridot, you really are someone reliable" Lapis mentions sarcastic "You know, I think you're right, we have no reason to be enemies of any kind" The blue gem mentions pulling out her wings as they were fists.

"Now I have the reasons" Pearl responds seriously, she walks forward to encounter the blue gem.

"Oh," Lapis exclaims with a little hint of surprise. "I can't imagine why." The blue gem adds, she also walks forward to encounter with the white gem. Lapis holds Peridot because she also has to face Pearl, according to the twisted reasoning of the blue gem.

Then Steven whistles down the street, instantly Lapis saves her wings and Pearl saves her spear, while Peridot jumps to the legs of the hybrid like a terrified animal, which is what draws Steven's attention "... Mom ... Are you scaring Peridot again?" The hybrid asks curiously, but then he turns to see "Pink is not here. Or she is?" The hybrid asks with annoyance, but then he also has his mother on top.

"Steven! Come home immediately!" Pearl implores crying and emotional while she is trying to drag the hybrid.

"Do not!" Steven responds and he surpasses his mother in strength, which does not surprise Lapis or Pearl, but the white gem continues to implore to her son. This unfortunately brings the soft side of Steven "Mom, I" The hybrid tries to say, but then from the sky Pink Diamond falls behind Pearl.

"Yes?" Pink asks with indifference to Steven's words.

"I'm listening boss music" Peridot exclaims terrified.

"Boss music?" Lapis asks confused.

"I'm waiting for Steven. Do you regret disobeying me?" Diamond asks, she places her hands on Pearl's shoulders. The white gem slowly removes her hands from her son, she is silent and looks down, while the hybrid remains silent, but his eyes are not removed from Pink Diamond's eyes.

"... I got a work and home, I don't need you" Steven responds seriously, surprising Pearl and Pink.

"But you already have" The blue gem tries to say, but quickly the hybrid closes Lapis's mouth with his hand. She continues to murmur something, surely Steven needed to do that to keep the conversation as civilized or less chaotic as possible.

"You have a week, I don't think you survive more than that" Pink insists seemingly without emotions "Let's go, Pearl" The diamond insists, and the white gem fulfills the orders, leaving the place.

"... I saw myself shattered for a few moments" Peridot exclaims recovering the breath that she doesn't need to live.

"Don't lick my hand, Lapis" Steven rushes to say "...What happened with my mom?" The hybrid asks while he is removing his hand from the mouth of the blue gem.

"It's a short story that involves Pearl chasing me, I tell you on the way to Spinel's house" Lapis responds calmly, and she walks towards the house of the pink gem, accompanied by Steven, and Peridot, who is still clinging to the leg of the hybrid "How did you get a job?" The blue gem asks surprised, to which Steven also has some things to explain.

******

"Blue, Yellow, contact all the employers in Beach City, I want to know who the hell got a job for Steven" Pink asks her sisters in a serious tone, but she reveals some of her discomfort. Pearl is at her side fixing her fluffy hair, although that was not necessary, the diamond likes it.

"Oh, Steven got a job? He's growing so fast" Blue laments and obviously she cries of joy on the other side of the phone.

"Aw, I wanted him to work for me, the more diamonds in the business the better" Yellow mentions calmly as she seems to seek her younger sister's request "What do you plan to do? Threaten the employer if something happens to Steven or something like that?" The diamond adds, but Pink doesn't answer.


	33. Following insects.

After that day with his mother and Pink, Steven wakes up early in a surprising way, leaving Spinel's couch to go to the bathroom and get ready to go to work with his father. The hybrid makes a note before leaving, leaving the house quite cheerful, his companions wake up after "I have the theory that Steven was kidnapped by Pearl" Lapis mentions looking for the hybrid, she is very confused and does not know where he is.

"Oh we can only look at the note he left" Spinel responds by taking the note in the kitchen "He says he went to work" The pink gem adds calmly.

"Or that is what Pearl wants us to create" The blue gem insists by throwing Spinel's couch and using it as a barricade "After preparing the defenses, you, Peridot and I will carry out a rescue mission" Lapis exclaims with excitement, while Spinel sighs and places the note on the face of her friend "The enemy perfectly copies Steven's letter" The blue gem exclaims.

"Lapis, it was funny the first time, now it isn't anymore" Spinel mentions with a sideways smile, but then something sounds outside, similar to the sound of an animal being hanged. Both gems come out quickly, finding a corrupt gem, they can immediately identify her as a Nephrite, but she was shaped like a centipede, with white hair and is pulling acid through her mouth.

Spinel and Lapis look surprised at the Nephrite, who is eating food scraps from the garbage, and happily releases more acid through her mouth "I don't think she wants to hurt us" The pink gem mentions, but quickly the blue gem and she are on crush the Nephrite. The green gem notices this and she runs off after growling at the two gems.

"Hey, I have an idea" Lapis suddenly exclaims.

"Yes, I think I have one too. We should follow that Nephrite, we haven't found corrupt gems in a while and it may be necessary to get more information, like when Steven had that strange vision after touching the gem inside the red eye" Spinel mentions with emotion.

"I was talking about dressing up as superheroes, but that is also a valid and very good idea, Spinel." Lapis exclaims smiling, while she and the pink gem begin to follow the Nephrite. The green gem is running scared, but unfortunately, she can't escape her pursuers.

******

The Nephrite looks in all directions, she is hidden in a bush, her breath trembles and more acid escapes from her mouth, the sound of the acid burning the branches gives her away, so the green gem runs out of her bush, heading for a portal, fortunately there were quite many warps in Beach City and nobody was using that one in particular.

The small black legs of the Nephrite are placed on top of the portal, but when the blue light is activated sending her to another place, she realizes that Lapis and Spinel are behind her, arriving at the same destination. A scream of disfigured terror comes out of the corrupted gem and she runs "I understand why Pearl did it, appearing behind someone is a good way to scare" The blue gem mentions with emotion as she continues to chase the Nephrite along with Spinel .

Now the group is in a kind of strange meadow, quite deformed, with hills that make irregular ups and downs. The Nephrite runs through the hills while Lapis and her companion fly over it, it seems that the green gem is looking for something, and she quickly finds it when she is descending to a kind of trees on a steep descent to the side of the hills.

The blue gem plummets on it, just behind the Nephrite, the green gem tries to spit acid on its two pursuers, but then Spinel crushes it with her enlarged foot, then the pink gem encloses the Nephrite in a bubble and sends the green gem to her home (Spinel's house) "If she confronts us here, this must be her home" The pink gem tries to deduce, she looks closely at the place, there seems to be a huge stone covered with moss and vegetation.

Nothing out of the ordinary, apparently "Yes, I suppose, but there is something strange here" Lapis answers with certain doubts, she begins to take a couple of steps in the area, accompanied by Spinel. Particularly around the trees, in the beginning they both find nothing but then Lapis looks at something between the roots "Spinel, come here" The blue gem orders, and then she points to a kind of lever between the roots, entangled in them.

"...There's more around here" Spinel exclaims looking at other roots for similar details, so she and Lapis get ready to take out those objects, simply by pulling them. The force made by the two gems plucks part of the roots, but they notice how the objects that have just started are actually weapons of numerous types, such as swords, spears or axes. "Wow, this is old. Surely not as much as us, but old depending on the point of view" The pink gem exclaims surprised watching the weapons.

"Yes. Do you think this has something to do with the corrupt gems? I think not." Lapis responds indifferently and she throws one of the weapons without giving it much importance, but then they can hear the metallic sound of the object hitting against a metal. Surprised, the two gems turn to see, but they only find that the weapon hit the rock.

Spinel stretches and she removes the layer of moss with her fingers, finding that the rock was actually a kind of war vehicle "Do you recognize this?" The pink gem asks to Lapis with curiosity, the blue gem gets inside the vehicle and Spinel follows her. The vehicle is turned sideways and turns out to be larger than it seemed, the two companions slide through the circular interior until they hit a wall, which they use as a floor.

"This is a vehicle used by the army of diamonds during the Rose Quartz rebellion" Lapis exclaims in surprise, she passes her hands through one of the command posts, cleaning the symbol of the Diamond authority "I wonder if this can work" The blue gem exclaims with emotion, and she uses her wings to fly to the main command post, where formerly a captain would have sat.

"I don't know much about these things. Any particular information I have to know about these...things?" Spinel asks curiously, she stretches towards Lapis, positioning herself behind her. The blue gem seems to think for a few minutes, until then the information reaches her head once more.

"Yes, well, there is nothing to say about the vehicle in particular, it is a standard vehicle for combat and mobilization, but. Do you know what kind of gems drive these types of vehicles?" Lapis exclaims seriously, but Spinel denies, she knew the structure of a diamond's court, but not the army, which had its own structure within all quartz and other gems "Usually a squad of Nephrites" The blue gem explains.

"I mean...Did that Nephrite participate in the war against Rose Quartz? Maybe she worked on this same ship?" Spinel asks surprised. But Lapis only lifts her shoulders.

"I don't have a way of knowing it, maybe she did it, or maybe not. We still don't fully understand how corrupt gems work, so maybe this is just coincidence." The blue gem tries to think of another alternative.

"But this fits too well, we find a corrupt Nephrite and she takes us to a vehicle where the Nephrites worked during the war... Wait, I think I just realized something" Spinel exclaims with surprise, then she leaves of the ship and a curious Lapis accompanies her. The pink gem is heading towards the strange hills, Spinel stretches her hands and she uses them as rakes, removing a layer of herbs, moss and dirt, which reveal many more vehicles and weapons beneath the surface.

"... This is amazing," Lapis exclaims in surprise, and she applauds Spinel, who leans forward receiving applause for her discovery.

******

Jasper is drinking a beer in Beach City when Centi and her sisters stand next to her "Jasper, hello there" The leader of the Nephrites greets her friendly, the orange gem sighs and watches the green gems, they are carrying a lot of papers. Jasper looks curiously at the group, dressed in their green jackets and others things "Could you help us to find one of ours?" Centi asks kindly, partly the orange gem feels disgusted by the friend of the diamond child.

"Why should I help you?" Jasper inquires with annoyance while taking another sip of her beer and she only belches in the face of the green gems. Centi shrugs, but she remains quite cheerful.

"Well, we are all in our group as sisters, and you know what it is to have a big family" Centi exclaims with confidence, unfortunately she hits Jasper's soft spot, and she knows it "We already warned the police, we just want you to help us to find her and place some posters. I can even pay you if you want" The green gem exclaims.

"... Ok, you convinced me. What happened?" Jasper accepts indifferently.

"We are not sure, one of our sisters simply ... left, we have not found her since then. There were no problems at home or anything similar" Centi explains quite confused and worried about the status of one of her sisters, the orange gem nod and take some of the posters to help the Nephrites.

A few moments later Jasper just sticks all the posters on a wall, all in a row and well ordered "Perfect, now is time to collect the money that Centi owes me" The orange gem exclaims with a smile having done an easy job, but she then looks at the photographs of the green gem "...Maybe I should go to ask Steven, if he knows anything" Jasper mentions, but she hesitates to do that, that would probably end badly "I don't even know where he is...Oh, maybe I can visit Greg...To ask him about his son, of course" The orange gem reasons.

******

Jasper is paralyzed when she discovers that Steven is working in the car wash, the hybrid stares at the orange gem "Oh, hello Jasper" Greg greets leaving the interior of the building and speaking kindly "Do you need anything?" The adult asks while Steven keeps the distances with the gem.

"... Actually yes, I have something to tell Steven" Jasper responds quickly, attracting the attention of the hybrid, who looks at the orange gem with curiosity "One of Centi's sisters is missing" Jasper explains calmly and really she doesn't care, but then Steven takes a pink color.

"What?!" Steven asks surprised, his pink color and the scream surprise Greg a little but he is used to his son having rare powers, Jasper for his part recoils a little.

"By the way, I have nothing to do with it. But by any chance. You don't know anything about her or something? I think people usually tell you all their problems, at least that's what Amethyst once told me" The orange gem exclaims curiously. The hybrid quickly denies, then he recovers the air and leaves a few moments, returning when he is already normal.

"I don't know anything, but as soon as I have free time I'll call Centi" Steven exclaims with concern.

"You can go do it now if you want son" Greg mentions calmly and pats the hybrid's back. Steven runs out to his phone to call his friend "Wow, I hope everything is solved quickly. Didn't you say you didn't help people? I think you're doing something quite altruistic here" Greg mentions happily.

"They are paying me for do it" Jasper exclaims quickly, making the human understand the situation calmly, or so she expects "And? What about you? Everything seem resolved with your son...Now he works here? You solved your problems with him?" The orange gem mentions with a little discomfort, she doesn't get along very well with the hybrid.

"I have no problems with Steven, I just felt a little out of the way and useless, but he is still my son. He needs a work, so I gave it to him. His mother kick him out of the house. I think at the end of the day even humans with powers and upper class people need help" Greg mentions calm, a little embarrassed, but in the end the human smiles. Jasper patted Greg's shoulder with a sideways smile.

"It's good to hear that...Not the thing that Pink Diamond kicked Steven, but that you have no problems with him...Do you want to go for a drink after work? In the same place of the last time" The orange gem exclaims, after a few moments when she is silent.

"Sure, why not?" Greg exclaims calmly and Jasper says goodbye to him, fortunately that is when the orange gem leaves Steven returns.


	34. Centi and Steven

Peridot is letting the hot water waste, she had simply turned on the shower and now she watches the steam move through the air in the bathroom, it was a strange way to waste time, but then she receives a call from Steven "Hi Steven" The green gem greets with joy the call of the hybrid.

"Hi Peridot. Are Spinel and Lapis with you?" Steven asks curiously on the other side of the call, it is a little difficult to hear him due to the noise from outside and the steps of the hybrid himself.

"No, I think they left. Do you need me to tell them something?" Peridot responds a little confused but she is willing to help her friend in almost any request.

"Yes, I will be home late. I have to help someone," Steven explains quickly, surprising the green gem, although that situation was not uncommon. The call is cut with few words, leaving Peridot silent in the bathroom. She then turns off the shower and leaves the bathroom, a little nervous if at any time Pearl or a strange gem working for Pink Diamond could appear, when she opens the door Peridot is surprised that the door hit something.

"What?...Ahhh!" The green gem is terrified to see a Nephrite encapsulated in a bubble, she had not seen much inside Spinel's house, but Peridot had no idea why the pink gem should have a gem in a bubble "...Is it real or is it a replica?" Peridot wonders reasoning the strange situation "Yes, it must be fake or something. Gems should not encapsulate other gems...Well, humans create accessories with gems ..."

"I better not think about that" Peridot sentences indifferently and she goes to the living room "Lapis! Spinel!...Well, I tried" The green gem exclaims after calling her friends only one time, then she throws herself on the couch, looking at the ceiling, the plants that are all over the house are a little strange for Peridot, but comforting in some respect.

******

In another part of the city Steven knocks on the door of the house of the Nephrites "Steven!" Centi and her squad greet the hybrid with emotion, the leader of the green gems shakes the guest's hand tightly.

"Centi, I came to help" Steven exclaims with concern, to which Centi nods, the Nephrites are around the hybrid and the squad leader.

"I thank you very much" Centi exclaims with joy, in a few moments she and Steven separate a little from the rest of the green gems, going to the room of the missing Nephrite "We haven't touched anything for now, but we don't know why our sister could have left" The green gem explains with concern "We tried to call her but we have not received an answer, we also searched the city without success" Centi explains with disappointment.

Steven pays attention to his friend's words "Did something happen this week? I mean, I don't say that you have argue or something but. Did you get in trouble with someone? Did you go somewhere?" The hybrid asks curiously, Centi seems to think of an answer. Then Steven checks the room, it's really very neat, the squad's boots are in a corner, and the hybrid notices how they're covered in orange sand.

"Well, we didn't get into a lot of trouble but a few days ago we went on a trip to the center of the country" The green gem exclaims simply "But I can't tell you much about that trip" Centi exclaims, attracting Steven's curiosity "... Come to see this" The green gem exclaims taking out her phone a little sorry, the hybrid goes with his friend and then sees a photograph of the Nephrites' trip.

All the green gems are in what looks like an orange terrain, like a plateau, in the center of the image is Centi that has to be lifted by her sisters "...You were drinking alcohol" Steven exclaims surprised, and Centi nods with a few drops of sweat.

"I was drinking a lot of alcohol, I don't really know how I came back alive from the trip, we played sports in some mountains and I was ...VERY, drunk...When I came back I was almost blind because I fell asleep and the Sun hit me all over my eye. You should have come, the meat was very cheap to the store we went to eat" The green gem explains commenting minor details of his trip, the hybrid is actually surprised at how Centi drank every day and remained apparently healthy, alcoholic, but healthy

"...Don't you remember anything strange about that trip?...How much time passed between the arrival of the trip and the disappearance of your sister, Centi?" Steven asks curiously.

"Not long, maybe a day or two at least, I have a long hangover" Centi responds and she sits on her sister's bed, the hybrid sits next to her "I'm worried, she is part of my squad. I don't know what I will do if one of them does not return" The green gem laments.

"We will find her" Steven says with confidence "But I ask you, please try to remember every detail" The hybrid insists.

Centi remains silent, some acid slips through the mouth of the green gem, like an involuntary reflex, Steven narrowly dodges a drop of acid that almost falls on his foot "During our road trip, we found some strange holes on the walls, we never saw anything similar, they were very amorphous and poorly organized holes, most of them at least. We inspected the area with curiosity but then a kind of...sound, moved us away" The green gem tries to explain, but clearly It is difficult for her, the hybrid does not know if it is the situation or because of alcohol.

"A sound? What was it like?" Steven inquires with some surprise at Centi's account, but she searches for the words to explain the situation.

"It was like...hundreds of voices, accompanied by a kind of light, or perhaps several lights. It is difficult to explain, I could try to draw it" The green gem mentions with concern, she leaves the room while the hybrid waits inside of the same, in a few minutes Centi returns with a box of things.

Steven observes how the green gem draws the events with crayons, they were rare images, representing the Nephrites like sticks, there were orange walls with strange holes and finally a kind of lights with humanoid shapes moving away the group of green gems "...This seems very supernatural Centi" The hybrid points with surprise.

"I swear it was not the effect of alcohol, the rest of my sisters also saw that" Centi says quickly and a little nervous, but Steven takes the green gem's hand and tries to calm her down. Fortunately, the hybrid succeeds in his efforts "...Nothing more strange happened lately" Centi exclaims.

"I feel like a detective" Steven tries to smile because of his joke, the green gem does not react, she does not laugh but neither takes that joke as something of bad taste "I'm sorry. I will help you find your sister as much as I can" The hybrid exclaims, Centi smiles at her friend, then she pulls a bottle of alcohol out of the box.

"Do you want some?" The green gem exclaims smiling.

"... Centi, I can't drink alcohol, I'm a minor" Steven mentions seriously, so he realizes that all Nephrites are in the room looking at him smiling, at least the hybrid is not afraid of the green gems, otherwise he would feel very intimidated.

"I tell you a tip Steven, things are only illegal if the authority finds it out" Centi explains calmly and even with a bit of arrogance "Second, any law that forbids you to drink until you are of a certain age is bullshit" The green gem sentence and she takes another drink, her sisters then take out more bottles and they drink too. The hybrid is trapped and sweating while his friends are getting drunk.

"You all can drink, but I don't want anyone to have an accident" Steven exclaims with concern.

"Thank you Steven. For many things," Centi exclaims, so the hybrid realizes that both she and her sisters are already drunk, the resistance to alcohol of the Nephrites is very low. Steven sighs, it would be a long night.

******

**[A few hours later]**

Steven clothes the Nephrites in their beds after throwing the empty bottles in the trash "Good night, Steven" Centi and her sisters say goodbye to the hybrid, and he to them. Steven sees the time on his phone and runs to Spinel's house, it's late in the night and tomorrow he has to keep working with Greg in the car wash. The adult meanwhile was drinking with Jasper, but the hybrid doesn't know that.

"Girls, I arrived!" Steven greets entering Spinel's house, finding the gems on the couch.

"Steven!" Lapis, Spinel and Peridot greet calmly, then the hybrid sees how the blue and pink gem bring weapons "...We have an explanation, we believe we made an advance in our investigation" Lapis and Spinel exclaim with emotion.

"I don't know what's going on" The green gem calmly points out "But they asked me to take this to the university so that my history teacher studies this, believe me, that old man probably lived the history much more than some gems" Peridot mentions with annoyance while she takes the weapons and goes to the bathroom again.

Steven sits a little confused on the couch next to Spinel and Lapis, the blue gem is about to speak but then the pink gem smells something "...Steven! Were you drinking ?!" Spinel asks surprised, then the hybrid smells his own clothes and realizes the smell of alcohol that floods him.

"... Everything has an explanation, I didn't drink anything!" Steven rushes to mention while Spinel continues to be very surprised by her assumption.

"That doesn't matter, we have to talk about what happened today" Lapis responds indifferently.

The group is quick to catch up, both on the discovery of Lapis and Spinel, and the meeting between Centi and Steven. The hybrid is silent, he gets up and goes through the bubble with the Nephrite "...This must be Centi's sister" Steven says with concern "...I should go tell her this as soon as possible" The hybrid exclaims.

"Well, we can't really assume that it is the same Nephrite but I have to admit that it is very likely, the situation just fits too well to be another Nephrite" Lapis points with surprise, and Spinel nods "But I think it would not be a good idea to tell your friend Centi about this" The blue gem mentions, surprising her friends.

"Why not? She deserves to know" Steven responds curiously.

"Yes, but right now is too early for that, we still don't know a way to cure corrupt gems and this can be a long-term setback. If I were you, I would lie to Centi" Lapis analyzes indifferently.

"Lapis, I know I lied to you once but I don't want to repeat that with any other friend" The hybrid responds with concern, and quite regretful. The blue gem smiles and she nods, she understands what Steven means.

"That's a good feeling, but now we're talking about a much more delicate situation, Steven" Lapis responds amicably, the hybrid swallows saliva, there are certain points where the ocean's gem is right "You can go tell Centi tomorrow, or not, if you decide to change your mind" Lapis exclaims calmly and she stands up to pat the hybrid's shoulders kindly.

Spinel also gets up to go with his two friends. "Hey, it's great to see you two now solve things in a civilized way. But I think we still have other issues to address, the experience of the Nephrites' trip could be very useful information. if in fact it happened, perhaps that is related to corruption" The pink gem points, and her companions nod.

Steven kindly says goodbye to his two friends and he falls asleep shortly after, he regrets that he only has his clothes from that moment and therefore will have to smell of alcohol for quite some time.

"Hey Lapis. Aren't you jealous about Steven spending time with Centi?...It's not because I seem to have something against you, it's just curiosity" Spinel exclaims quickly and quite curiously about the relationship between the hybrid and the blue gem. Lapis does not take long to calmly deny "Why?"

"Oh well...If Steven tries to change, I think it makes sense for me to try too. So I don't want to feel jealous because Steven has more friends...Will you forgive me, Spinel?" The blue gem asks with curiosity and kindness, then the pink gem smiles and she extends her hand towards Lapis. They both shake hands and go to sleep just like Steven.


	35. Nothing is illegal as long as you are not caught

Steven wakes up even earlier than the day before, although this leaves small dark circles under his eyes, the hybrid brushes his teeth and goes to take the bubble with the Nephrite inside, he is very determined to go to see Centi to explain the situation with the sister of the green gem. Then suddenly Steven realizes Lapis is there, the blue gem is staring at him "Good luck" Lapis exclaims calmly, surprising the hybrid a bit by the words.

"Oh, thanks Lapis" Steven exclaims smiling, a gesture that the blue gem mimics "Hey, I...I still owe you a date" The hybrid mentions a little sorry.

"Are you trying to invite me to one?" Lapis asks pretending surprise, mixed with a little mockery to Steven. The hybrid frowned as his skin took on a pinkish hue. The fang-filled smile of the blue gem widens at Steven's little gestures.

"I still owe you one, I only mention it. I think you should choose the date" The hybrid tries to explain but he almost bites his tongue in the process. The blue gem sticks out her tongue towards Steven as a form of children's play "Lapis please take my words a little more seriously" The hybrid mentions embarrassed by Lapis.

"Oh come on, I'm just playing with you" Lapis exclaims with excitement rising, she runs her arm around the neck of the hybrid with total calm as Steven approaches the door to leave "Besides, of course you still owe me a date and I will choose when or what we do" The blue gem adds with apparent indifference but her facial expressions of mockery give it away. She calmly says goodbye to the hybrid that runs quickly with the Nephrite in the bubble between his hands.

******

When Steven knocks the door, but he does not receive a response "They must be sleeping" The hybrid assumes calmly, he observes the house of the green gems and finds that the Nephrites have the window open, which is curious because it is something Steven does not remember from his last visit, but perhaps they had woken up in the middle of the night. In the worst case they didn't open the window and someone from outside entered in the house, but the hybrid does not imagine that scenario as probable.

Steven looks at his sides before entering through the window, a little awkward for him to do that, but upon entering the house the hybrid finds it in a completely different state from yesterday. Now there are more bottles of alcohol on the floor, with Centi sleeping on the couch, the other sisters are in their rooms, but just as drunk as their leader "Centi" Steven calls the green gem calmly.

The hand of the hybrid kindly shakes one of Centi's shoulders, the green gem moves unconscious and she mutters things that Steven cannot understand, but that surely was nothing of much importance. The hybrid calls the green gem again and she suddenly gets up, hitting Steven's forehead even though she is more damaged "Steven?" Centi asks, she rubs her aching head, partly because of alcohol, partly because of her clash with the hybrid.

"Yes, it's me" Steven responds calmly as he spits in his hand and passes it through the head of the green gem, that doesn't cure the effects of alcohol but at least the blow doesn't hurt anymore.

"...Did we have sex?" Centi asks surprised to find the hybrid in her house.

"No!" Steven responds quickly with a blush on his face.

"What a disappointment" Centi exclaims calmly, surprising the hybrid for her words. The green gem straightens on her couch and she looks at the hybrid, Steven has the bubble hidden behind his back "So? What brings you to my house so early?" Centi asks with joy, the hybrid swallows saliva and sits next to the green gem, which looks curiously at her friend.

Steven swallows saliva, and then he reveals the bubble with the Nephrite. Centi looks surprised at the pink bubble "I have...many things to explain, some are difficult to understand" The hybrid exclaims seriously, he extends his hand to the green gem before starting to speak. In the beginning it is difficult, but Steven's hand is pressed more and more tightly by the green gem as the hybrid's narration continues to advance.

Acid tears fall from Centi's only eye, burning part of the couch and the green gem's clothes "Can I see her?" Centi asks with concern "Please Steven" The green gem implores, the hybrid looks down and he bursts the bubble. The Nephrite does not take long to regenerate, she clearly resembles a small insect that spits acid around her. The look of Centi and her sister collide, with little Nephrite jumping on the couch to greet with emotion.

Centi hugs her little sister while crying, the other green gem does not understand what is happening "We will find a way to cure her..." Steven says seriously, he places his hand on the Nephrite and with a little force he destroys the form physics of her, locking her once more in a bubble. Now Centi jumps to hug the hybrid, clinging to him tightly.

Steven corresponds strongly, his friend's tears create some holes in the hybrid's pink jacket but his hands continue to hug the green gem. Centi makes murmurs that Steven cannot understand, but they are mostly laments of the green gem. The hybrid pushes Centi's alcohol bottles away, although she generally doesn't seem to let go of the hug.

The sobs of the green gem are gradually extinguishing "...Sorry for what I did with your clothes" Centi mentions tearfully.

"Don't worry," Steven answers calmly.

"...I want to help" The green gem declares "I will help you to find...whatever, whatever it takes to heal my sister" Centi exclaims with determination, she tries to wipe the tears from her eye but it is difficult, the sleeve of the green gem jacket is now ruined, as is the jacket and shirt of the hybrid.

"Thank you very much Centi" Steven exclaims and patted Centi's back in a friendly way, but then the green gem takes him to one of the rooms of the house "What happen?" The hybrid asks confused, a little nervous even.

"You need a change of clothes" The green gem points out, Steven puts his fingers through the holes of his jacket while the green gem opens her closet, pulling out a brown shirt and a green jacket, they are not the size of the hybrid, but he can put them on. To Steven's discomfort, Centi stares at him while he is changing clothes, at least she hadn't cried to him in his pants.

"Thank you very much Centi, as soon as I get some money I will buy some clothes and I will give you this back" The hybrid mentions, he folds the sleeves of the jacket so that they are more according to his size, those clothes stick a little to Steven's body , mainly because of the difference between the Nephrites and him in regards to the shape of the bodies.

"You can keep it" Centi exclaims calmly as she patted the hybrid's back, but then she smells Steven "You smell like alcohol" The green gem mentions calmly "It's not a bad smell, but I think that not all people like that. Do you want some new pants too? " Centi asks calmly.

"Oh, thanks" Steven accepts calmly. This time he throws the green gem out of the room before changing. Once he finishes, the hybrid says goodbye to the green gem, telling her the address of Spinel's house in case Centi would like to visit or talk to a team member.

******

Steven walks to the car wash with his new clothes, he smiles at the change of style, the hybrid likes Nefritas' boots and jeans. Centi had kept the jacket and shirt of the hybrid to give them a wash and remove the smell of alcohol "Dad!" Steven greets with emotion, only to find Greg and Jasper in a state similar to Centi's.

The adult and the orange gem are asleep, the hybrid clenches his fists and pulls Jasper to put her behind the car wash. Actually, not even that awakens the orange gem, which could perfectly be run over by a car and she would still not wake up, on the other hand Steven covers Greg with a blanket and waits for his father to wake up.

"Steven?" Greg asks confused to see the silhouette of his son.

"Yes" The hybrid responds calmly "You went to drink with Jasper, as far as I can see" Steven exclaims with apparent indifference but he clenches his fists a little at the mention of the orange gem.

"Oh yes. Is she alright?" Greg asks curiously as he tries to recover from his headache "Can you go to see if I have any hangover medicine?" The adult kindly asks "Don't follow my example Steven, don't drink. It's bad for you" Greg adds while Steven goes to check for some medicine.

"Don't worry dad. Speaking of Jasper, she is behind the car wash" The hybrid points calmly "... There are no medicines dad" Steven mentions after a few minutes and find nothing. Greg swallows his impulses to insult, he may fall low, but not so low as to insult in front of his son.

"Tell me Steven...How was your meeting with Centi? Did she find her sister?" The adult asks with concern remembering a little of the previous day.

"...It's complicated" Steven responds with a bit of sadness "Hey dad. If you feel bad, you can let me take care of the car wash for today" The hybrid mentions kindly, changing the subject. Greg sighs, which attracts some confusion from Steven.

"You're a good boy Steven, but I can't let you do everything alone" The adult exclaims responsibly and tries to get up with great difficulty. The hybrid helps Greg to get up, the adult is going to check how Jasper is but when the two fail in wake her up, they let her sleep, the rest of the day passes peacefully in the car wash

"Hey Steven. Now you have a new style?" Greg asks surprised by his son's new clothes, he has to explain now what happened to Centi's crying.

******

"I arrived guys" Steven greets entering in Spinel's house, surprised to find that Centi is there "Hey Centi. What are you doing here?" The hybrid asks smiling greeting the green gem.

"I wanted to say hello and thank you all for finding my sister, even if she is in...her current condition" Centi explains seriously and after a few moments of silence she pulls out of her jacket a bottle, she tries to drink, but Steven quickly stop her.

"Hey Steven. What happened to your clothes?" Lapis and Spinel ask surprised to see the hybrid with clothes that combine too well with Centi's.

"There were some problems with my clothes" The hybrid tries to explain, and the pink gem pays attention, but then they both realize that Centi and Lapis are watching Steven's rearguard "...What are you two doing? " The hybrid asks with a hint of annoyance.

"... Your ass fits those jeans very well." Centi and Lapis don't bother to hide that they're looking directly at Steven, so the two gems start to cry. "How could it be that you have more butt than the two of us?" Centi and Lapis ask in surprise, while Steven nervously slaps them and sends them across the room.

"... They are both right" Spinel mentions watching the rear of the hybrid. Another slap sends the pink gem flying out the window.

Peridot then appears returning from the university "Hey, good news. In two weeks I will have the reports of the weapons, and Yellow Diamond said I can go back to my apartment" The green gem exclaims with excitement, but she sees the rest of the gems with slap marks on their faces and the flushed hybrid "What happened here?...Nice clothes Steven" Peridot adds curiously.

"Don't you think Steven's ass looks good?" Centi, Lapis and Spinel point out while Peridot looks even more confused as Steven slaps his friends again.

******

"Very well, then. What is the plan once we have the reports?" Spinel asks seriously once everyone is less focused on doing stupidities.

"I think we should go where Centi and her sisters traveled. I propose that at this time we start raising money to pay for the trip" Steven responds with caution, to which Lapis, Centi and Spinel nod. The green gems are each removed for their home, while the blue gem and the hybrid remain at the home of the pink gem.

"Hey Steven..." Lapis catches Steven's attention.

"Don't say any comments about my ass" The hybrid quickly orders, and the blue gem is silent for a few moments.

"It's not that. I want us to have our date on Saturday." Lapis sentences with emotion, and Steven calmly accepts "...Now, can I comment about your ass?" The ocean gem asks but quickly Spinel and the hybrid silence her. In the distance, apart from Pearl feeling a chill down her back, Pink is disappointed to hear that her sisters found nothing about Steven's work.

****************************************************

_Warning: The following scene is an extra, and as such should not be considered as canonical within the fanfic. It’s just stupid humor._

"Very well, Peridot, you distract him. Spinel and I immobilize him, and Centi, you get rid of the clothes" Lapis orders with a military tone on a table, with the other gems mentioned around.

"Hey girls. What do they do?" Steven enters confused to the room. Then he reads a sign that says _How to rape Steven, Plan # 101_.

[Extra scene 2]

Steven comes running with Pink Diamond and Greg "I need protection" The hybrid exclaims worried.

"What's going on?" Greg asks worried about his son.

"I knew you would need me for something. What happens?" Pink asks arrogant.

"I have obsessed gems chasing me" Steven responds with fear.

"... Oh, that's the curse of our families Steven. You can't escape from a gem that became obsessed with you" Greg and Pink respond with disappointment, suddenly Jasper and Pearl are behind them both. Steven feels a chill down his back while Lapis is behind him.

"Make an orderly line" Lapis tells the other gems behind her.


	36. Fixing holes

Steven is on the couch with a needle and thread, trying to sew the holes of his jacket after Centi arrived to leave the laundry washed of the hybrid at Spinel's house, it had been only about four days since the hybrid had been kick out of his house, it was not even Saturday "Can you sew?" Lapis asks curiously watching Steven from behind, she looks curiously as he is spinning small pieces of cloth to close the holes.

"No, but I'm trying. I watched Mom do it before" Steven responds calmly, but then when he passes the needle through a part of the fabric, both the thread and the fabric fall off.

"You failed" The blue gem exclaims indifferently as she touches the cheek of the hybrid with her finger.

"Yes, you didn't need to tell me" Steven sighs calmly and tries again to sew his clothes.

"I can help?" Lapis asks with emotion, the hybrid nods and the blue gem pulls herself beside him on the couch. She speaks before Steven tries to say a word "I don't know how to sew either" Lapis exclaims calmly and she tries to learn along with the hybrid how to sew a shirt and a jacket.

A few minutes later, Spinel appears to see how the two of them broke their only needle by mistake "...I propose that you now keep the Nephrites' clothes until an external situation forces you to change clothes again" Lapis mentions seriously "That or you wear your old clothes with holes" The blue gem exclaims simply.

"I don't plan to wear clothes with holes, that's bad taste" Steven replies, he sounds very similar to Pearl in that aspect "...Do you think I look good with these clothes?" The hybrid asks looking at the clothes Centi lent him, there is a small smile on him, Lapis extends her fang-filled smile "You know what, I'd rather you to say nothing" Steven rushes to say.

"You look good Steven," Spinel exclaims indifferently and she pats the hybrid's back.

"You took the words from my mouth Spinel. What did you think I was going to say, Steven?" Lapis mentions mockingly looking at Steven, both he and the pink gem sigh at the comment of the blue gem. She laughs softly while having fun with her friends "Hey, you know what, I'm bored. We have to go do something" Lapis exclaims with emotion.

"Sounds like a good idea" Spinel and Steven accept smiling "But where are we going? I think there is a fair in the city, maybe it would be a good idea to go" The pink gem mentions and she stretches lively around the hybrid and the blue gem , they have small smiles on their faces.

"Maybe we could go to get some money somehow, if in the end we are going to make the trip to get information about the corrupt gems" Lapis adds thinking ahead, on the other hand Spinel and Steven nod at this reasoning "We could also stay here and eat, I like that option too much." The blue gem stands out and she stretches across the couch, moving the hybrid and the pink gem toward one end.

"We could walk around the city" Steven offers kindly "Or go shopping...Oh wait now I have no money...Now I am the poorest person in the group but I have work and you two do not" The hybrid exclaims with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"I have a job" Lapis claims, but she notices the looks of her two friends "Yes, it is not a paid job but it is still a job for me" The blue gem exclaims simply.

"...You're still the person with more money from the three of us Steven, you pay for things" Spinel exclaims and she apparently empathically pats Steven's shoulders.

"Yes, but unlike me, you only need sunlight to stay in operation...What happens if a gem goes a long time without receiving sunlight?" The hybrid asks with some confusion and concern, for they part Spinel and Lapis look away a little, but they quickly focus on Steven again.

"It's not pretty." The gems answer only that, the hybrid decides not to ask any more questions, it's not as if it were a particularly important issue. "So, I think our top priority now must be to get more money. But how?" Lapis exclaims curiously "...By the way Spinel, if you don't have a job. Who pays for the expenses of this house?" The blue gem adds with curiosity.

"Pink pays all the expenses of this house, legally it is her but I think that many properties throughout the world are of her, probably she forgets of most of the houses, mansions or buildings she owns" The pink gem responds indifferently.

"...Do we play a joke on Pink Diamond and make Spinel's house expenses increase?" Lapis suggests with emotion.

"No, besides, I think she could pay perfectly no matter how much light or water we use in this house" Spinel and Steven respond seriously. The trio starts thinking about any possible alternative to get more money, the hybrid is the one who has the most complicated problem since he already works in his father's car wash, but Steven can get a part-time job or similar.

******

Peridot goes down the stairs from the third floor, a usual path for her since the cafeteria is in the lower part, she does not need to eat or nutrients such as organic life forms, but even a gem can get tired and she needs a lot of energy after those hours of almost endless talk with her teacher.

Then the green gem sees Lapis and Spinel work in the cafeteria serving coffee, Peridot quickly pounces at the gems "What the hell are you doing here?" The green gem asks surprised.

"Work" Spinel and Lapis respond simply "We need money...It is not that with this we get paid a lot but it is the best we could get" The gem of the ocean exclaims seriously.

"She's right. By the way, I've never been to a university before. Is it normal for me to have seen people at a funeral, more lively than these students?" The pink gem asks stretching towards Peridot.

"Yes" The green gem responds. Peridot is about to ask for something for her, taking advantage that she is now with her friends in front, but suddenly her and Spinel's attention turns aside when Lapis pulls an abdominal wheel from under the table, and she is excited, that's bad.

******

**[A few hours later]**

Steven comes back to Spinel's house "Hey girls, I had no luck. How did you two go?" The hybrid asks curiously.

"We were fired the first day" Spinel and Lapis respond calmly, attracting Steven's curiosity.

"Why?" The hybrid exclaims sitting next to the two gems.

"Well, first of all Lapis stole an abdominal wheel from the gym and...we became a kind of motorcycle, or a bicycle or a tricycle, whatever you want to say" The pink gem responds, Steven's face only shows confusion "Lapis held the wheel to use it as the front of a bicycle, and I was holding Lapis's legs, while I was running the wheel allows us to move forward like if we were a vehicle...It was fun" Spinel tries to explain but it's quite complicated for the hybrid understand how it could be that his two friends ended up in that situation.

"In addition, it turns out that insulting students for no reason is discouraged by workers," Lapis adds calmly.

"Well, we went back to where we started" Steven sighs and he passes his hands over his face, they three give a little cry of annoyance, but then the hybrid has a small idea "Hey. Do you remember how to get to the place where you two found old weapons and the militar vehicles?" Steven asks curiously, his two friends nod.

"What are you planning?" Lapis and Spinel ask curiously.

"We can go pick up some more and sell them as scrap or antiques somewhere" The hybrid explains, then the group smiles at the idea in a positive way.

******

"Does this have no emotional meaning to you?" Steven asks Lapis while the two of them are looting parts of one of the military vehicles, the blue gem looks at the hybrid with curiosity "I mean, you were part of the war. Are you having trouble doing this?" Steven asks curiously.

"Oh, no. It's just equipment, it is usually replaced all the time, sometimes it is cheaper to leave a vehicle behind than to try to save it. I was not the type of people who stick to these things" Lapis responds calmly "Also, in the war is also a lot of looting, you shouldn't be surprised because I'm fine with this." The blue gem smiles.

"If you say so I will believe you" Steven mentions with a calm smile.

"Thanks for doing it" Lapis exclaims with emotion, the blue gem takes a couple of steps towards the hybrid that is giving his back to her, Lapis's hands pass through Steven's back, a small shiver passes through his column while the hands of the ocean gem surround the neck of the hybrid "I'm sorry" The ocean gem exclaims calmly as she gives small movements from side to side, moving the hybrid along with her.

"And you call me sticky?" Steven asks with a small mockery while he takes Lapis hands, the blue gem and the hybrid let out a little laugh "... I" Steven squeezes Lapis' hands, but he is silent. The blue gem separates a little but then both she and the hybrid are caught by Spinel in a hug.

"Hey, I'm done looting that area, look what I found" The pink gem exclaims with emotion showing a kind of robotic limb of green color that surprises Steven and Lapis.

"Oh, look, this is for a Peridot!" The blue gem emphasizes with surprise surprising her two companions a little.

******

"Peridot" Steven, Lapis and Spinel call the green gem from her window, with the hybrid and the blue gem flying, while the pink gem is mounted on Steven's back "Peridot!" The group calls again, waking Peridot to open the window but then she receives a slap from Lapis with the robotic limb.

"Look what we found!" The blue gem exclaims leaving the limb in Peridot's apartment "Goodbye!" Lapis teases and she flies quickly as does Steven and Spinel. Peridot frowns.

"Stupids" The green gem growls at the joke of her friends, but then she curiously grabs the robotic limb "And this?" Peridot exclaims surprised, taking that mechanical member to the table to work on it, it was full of dirt and rust, but it was interesting, it was already archaic technology by Peridot standards but it was an interesting project for her.

Elsewhere in the city, Pink knocks on the door of Jasper and Amethyst's house, the quartz sisters are surprised to see the diamond there "Jasper, I have a question for you" Pink says indifferently, but the orange gem is practically kneeling in front of the diamond.

****************************************************

_Warning: The following scene is an extra, and as such should not be considered as canonical within the fanfic. It’s just stupid humor._

"Hey. Do you remember how to get to the place where you two found the old weapons and so on?" Steven asks curiously, his two friends nod.

"What are you planning?" Lapis and Spinel ask curiously.

"Outdoor sex" Steven replies.

[Extra scene 2]

"Jasper, I have a question for you," Pink says curiously.

"Yes. My diamond?" Jasper asks kneeling.

"Did you fuck Greg?" Pink asks with emotion.


	37. 37- There are no options

After successfully selling the weapons and scrap, the group had actually collected enough money, which Steven had to protect so his friends would not spend anything before it was the right time of the trip, not even he dared to take out a little to buy more clothes or something, just essential things like food. It is very early in the morning, the sun had not even risen, but the hybrid is in the kitchen heating some water for make tea.

Lapis is watching Steven from the couch, he is on his back, not seeing the blue gem. Lapis takes a breath and she crouches quietly, walking like a kind of animal the blue gem is stealthily approaching, trying to reach from behind the hybrid "If you scare me, it is likely that I will turn over the water" Steven mentions while preparing his tea "Do you want a little too? " The hybrid offers.

"No. How did you know I was trying to scare you?" Lapis asks curiously, she sits with a small smile on the table, Steven smiles back.

"I have my secrets to see when someone approaches me, one of Pink's bodyguards teach me" The hybrid exclaims calmly as he sits down to drink. There is silence between them, although it was a pleasant moment to speak, the fingers of the blue gem lightly touch the table in a small rhythm.

Steven takes another sip of his tea "... How do you feel? Regarding me" Lapis asks curiously, on the other hand the hybrid squeezes his cup tightly but he quickly stops before breaking it. The blue gem stares at Steven, she doesn't make any movement, she doesn't need to breathe either, it's like a statue in several ways.

"I love you in many ways but...I feel that something is missing, Lapis. I don't want either one to regret it later, it's been almost two months since you left your incarceration. Don't you want to meet other people?" The hybrid mentions, his throat chokes a little while Lapis gets up and she walks, following the edge of the table, until she is facing Steven. The hybrid looks at the blue gem, a little taller than him.

Lapis then kneels in front of Steven, the blue gem extends her hands, her fingers are firmly placed on the arm of the hybrid, he remains expectant of Lapis next move "...I have done bad things, to many people, I want to change, maybe redeem myself, but I'm stubborn and I ...I love you Steven, I...I never felt this for anyone else, and I don't want to do it." The blue gem murmurs, but she is perfectly heard by Steven. Her head rests on the knee of the hybrid, while her hands slide from the arm of the hybrid to grab his left hand.

Steven's fingers are intertwined with Lapis's fingers, his right hand is then placed over the blue gem's head, stroking her hair. Some tears come down the face of the hybrid, even a little bewildered but also very emotional, Steven's back arches and he places a kiss on Lapis's head. The hybrid does not say words, but remains very close to the blue gem.

A few moments later they both get up, one of Steven's hands and Lapis's hands continue tightly gripped, the hybrid's eyes are teary but widen when they see the blue gem "I am very emotional" Steven exclaims trying to wipe away the tears while a small laugh leaves Lapis.

"I know, and I love you like this" The blue gem sentences and she kisses the hybrid on the lips, he corresponds. Spinel on the other hand is watching everything from the sofa, she stretches her arm and takes the cup of tea from the hybrid while her two friends separate. Steven goes for the cup while Lapis laughs when she sees the pink gem and the hybrid fight for tea.

******

"So...Now what are you two?" Spinel asks with joy sitting together with Steven and Lapis, both the pink gem and the hybrid are drinking tea. The blue gem looks curious as sometimes they both raise their pinkies while they drink.

"I don't know I've ever been in a relationship before" Lapis says calmly.

"...Will you be my girlfriend?" Steven ashamed asks to the blue gem, then Lapis nods quickly.

"Don't worry, Lapis, Steven is also a virgin when it comes to having a partner. And in other ways," Spinel exclaims mockingly, annoying the hybrid but the blue gem laughs at the understanding of her friend's joke.

"We're still going to have that date on Saturday, right?" Steven asks Lapis.

"Of course" The blue gem patted the back of the hybrid, Spinel sees that at the moment they weren't very cloying, but knowing Steven the new couple would probably become very sweet quickly. The pink gem hums a small song while the hybrid prepares to go to work in the car wash, with Lapis watching television.

"...Hey Lapis...How do you think it feels to have Pearl and Pink Diamond as mother-in-law?" Spinel asks curiously sitting on the couch next to the blue gem, originally the pink gem sees her question as a joke, but then she notices Lapis sweating too much "...Pfff, don't worry. Surely Steven will save your life" Spinel exclaims and she pats the back of the blue gem.

"You know what? I'm willing to share that responsibility with you" Lapis exclaims smiling as she shows her fangs to the pink gem.

"What?" Spinel asks surprised while the blue gem keeps her smile.

******

Steven goes to his father's car wash when he suddenly receives a call from Centi, when the hybrid takes the call from the green gem he hears Centi's crying "I'll be right away" Steven exclaims and runs away in another direction, not before sending a message to his father so that he understands his absence for a few moments.

On the other hand in the car wash Pink Diamond gets to see Greg, the human almost drowns when he sees the pink gem arrive "Greg" Pink greets indifferently, making the human a little nervous due to her eyes fixed on him.

"P-Pink, it's been a little while" Greg exclaims nervously "What do you need?" The human asks while his hands sweat, but then from her pockets Pink Diamond drops a wad of money, then another, and then another.

"I give you all that and more. But you have to fire Steven" The diamond explains authoritatively, while Greg is surprised by the request of Pink Diamond. The human swallows saliva at the beginning, but his answer is quite clear.

"No" Greg exclaims, more money falls to the ground "I already said no Pink" The human exclaims trying to look away, but then the diamond leans toward him, Pink Diamond's emotionless look is directly penetrating Greg's soul .

******

Elsewhere, Steven arrives at the Nephrites' house, finding that Centi's other sister has been corrupted.


	38. So many hearts.

Steven from outside hears Centi's cries, the other Nephrites are worried and fearful outside the room "I'm going in, all of you stay here. Do you all understand?" The hybrid calmly orders, seriously asking the green gems, they nod as Steven quickly opens the door and closes it behind him after entering Centi's room. The biggest of the green gems is sitting on the floor.

Tears made of acid fall through Centi's eye while she holds her corrupt sister tightly, the steps of the hybrid silently direct him to the side of the green gem, but for a few moments Centi doesn't know what to do and she directs a strange growl towards Steven, but then the green gem bites her own tongue "I'm sorry" Centi emphasizes while she sobs, her sister sees the hybrid.

He sits next to the green gem, although it is a bit difficult because of the holes in the ground "Don't worry ..." Steven answers calmly, the hybrid places his hand on Centi's shoulder as she continues to hold on to the corrupted Nephrite "Centi, I can understand that this is difficult but...give me your sister, we have to put her in a bubble" Steven asks with understanding, removing his hand a little from his friend's shoulder.

Centi continues to cry for a few moments, but then she delivers the corrupt gem to the hybrid, like a wild animal there is a slight struggle but quickly the hybrid undoes the physical form of the Nephrite, and placing the green gem in a bubble. Steven stares at the melancholy Centi "I have some things to tell you but they are not as important as this. Do you want me to do something?" The hybrid kindly asks towards the green gem.

"... I want to eat something" Centi continues to sob, so Steven patted the head of the green gem.

"I'll be back soon with something to eat" The hybrid says with emotion, quickly leaving the room, finding Centi's sisters. Steven is silent just like them, so the hybrid quickly goes to get some food to try to relieve his friend. For a bit of Steven's concern, he finds that the Nephrites only eat potato chips, something a little worrying for the hybrid, but it wasn't time to talk about health.

The food does not take long to creak in the mouth of the hybrid and Centi, between them there is silence "Why does this happen to us?" The green gem asks out loud, she still seems shocked by the facts, some food slips down her mouth and dirties her face, but Centi gives little importance to something like that. On the other hand Steven takes out his side more similar to Pearl and cleans with his sleeve the face of his friend.

"I also wonder that Centi...Did you see how it happened?" The hybrid asks kindly, directing a serene and compassionate face to the green gem. Centi for her part nods"Do you want to tell me now?" Steven adds with curiosity, but this time the green gem denies sadly "Okay, I understand that at the moment you are sensitive to that...Do you want to hear me talk about something else?" Steven asks again trying to encourage Centi.

******

"I don't understand Pink, you first kick out Steven of your house and now you want me to fire him" Greg exclaims fearfully, meanwhile Pink Diamond nods calmly, she doesn't understand why the human continues to refuse such a simple request "Why?" The father asks with a hint of fear because of the presence of the diamond there, Pink brings some bad memories to Greg.

"Very simple, I want Steven to come home" The diamond responds with obviousness.

"Then why don't you just ask him to come back?" The human asks very confused, but then the pink gem emits a small snort of annoyance. Greg shrinks with while Pink Diamond's eyes close a few moments, maybe she is looking for the right words, when she opens them, nothing of the pink gem's expression has changed.

"...I have pride, I have a reputation, Greg. I make no mistake, you know that well. I don't want to bring Steven back, I want him to come back of his own accord, kneeling and repentant. Nothing more, nothing less" Pink Diamond exclaims simply, a shiver runs through Greg's spine through the words of the diamond. "Don't you realize? This is ruining Steven's future, he is meeting with bad influences and he is working on a car wash, you should understand the consequences in Steven's image if this continues" The diamond explains simply.

"...I think you are a bad influence for Steven, Pink" Greg responds with insecurity, Pink's hands come together and she gives a deep breath "Please don't hurt me" The human exclaims quickly, meanwhile the Diamond gives a small sigh, then she shows a small smile directed at Greg.

"To harm you? To harm you specifically? Oh Greg, I would never do that" Pink Diamond declares calmly while one of her fingers touches the human's head, it's not that Greg was small in stature, but many humans are a little short regarding some gems, this applies with the diamond and Greg.

"You're lying" The human mentions with a low tone in his voice.

"No, damaging _you_ specifically is not worth the effort, Greg" Pink responds simply and her smile widens in front of Greg's face "I want you to know something Greg, my offer is still standing, and if you continue to reject it, always I have other methods to make people fulfill my will" The diamond exclaims with sincerity, she kicks the money from the ground to the human and leaves with a calm air.

Greg takes the money and quickly throws it in the trash. Meanwhile Pink Diamond goes to her office, she takes a small sheet and a pencil, in a short time the diamond draws Greg, Steven, Pearl and herself, on the back of the sheet she draws White, Blue, Yellow and herself again. The diamond stares at the sheet for a few minutes, then she folds it and keeps it in her suit. Pink feels a chill.

The diamond takes her phone, calling another gem "Hey, Bismuth...I have some problems, I need support, now" Pink Diamond orders seriously.

******

Spinel tries to discern if Lapis's mischievous smile is serious or is it just a heavy joke that the blue gem is doing to her, knowing Lapis, the pink gem suspects many things "Don't you love Steven?" The ocean gem asks with curiosity "You two would look great together, you two like pink, you dance together, you sing together, you are very close, I think I understand Peridot's feeling when she said Steven and I would make a good couple" Lapis mentions with calm.

"Of course I love Steven, he is my best friend," Spinel replies confidently, but then the blue gem approaches the pink gem, Lapis' eyes look directly at her. Nervously, the pink gem plays with one of her pigtails "What?" Spinel asks trying to know what the blue gem thinks.

"You know what I am referring to, not as friends, I ask you if you like him in a romantic way" Lapis exclaims with emotion, suddenly a reddish tone takes on Spinel's face, and before she screams the blue gem continues to speak "I'm sure Steven feels something for you too. I already kissed him. Wouldn't you like to do it too? " Lapis declares.

"Lapis, you're dating Steven" Spinel tries to argue.

"And Pink Diamond was dating Pearl and Greg at the same time, I have less knowledge of how relationships work. But if she did I guess we can do it too...Do you join or not?" The blue gem exclaims with joy.

"... Are you taking Pink as an example?" The pink gem asks with a little nervousness.

"Look on the bright side, the mother's-in-law can't tell you anything and we all have fun like good friends" Lapis smiles but Spinel shrinks shyly, the pink gem tries to say something but then both she and the blue gem realize that the hybrid returns, which was strange, it was already late but it was still quite early with respect to the time when Steven finished his work "Talking about the devil in person. Let me take care of it" Lapis exclaims and she pats Spinel's back.

The pink gem suddenly has a red face but then she sees the blue gem and the hybrid speak, it seems that Steven is visibly worried "What's up?" Spinel asks stretching towards her two friends.

"Another of Centi's sisters got corrupted" Steven replies sadly, Lapis hugs the hybrid by the arm.

"Oh no" Spinel exclaims worried about Centi "How?" The pink gem asks the hybrid.

The blue gem sees Steven before he responds "Let's talk more calmly on the couch" Lapis orders seriously, taking the hybrid to the couch for him to sit down, with both gems accompanying him while explaining to them what happened, though unfortunately Steven doesn't have many details for Lapis and Spinel.


	39. It is not our fault.

It was night, after explaining what happened, with the few details Centi told him, and crying in the process, Steven is lying on the couch with Lapis. The couple is snuggling up, with the blue gem hugging the hybrid in the back, Spinel stares at Lapis and Steven "Hey...Do you want to watch a movie or something?" The pink gem offers and she stretches towards the group, patting the hybrid's head.

"Yes. Do you think it's a good idea?" The blue gem accepts and asks Steven kindly.

"Sounds good to me" The hybrid exclaims even a little sensitive, Lapis gives Steven a little kiss on the head. Spinel sees that they have already become cloying, in record time for what the pink gem could say, but that was not her problem, so she headed for some movie, surely she had to have some in somewhere, the problem was the house full of plants, bubbles with gems and garbage.

The hybrid looks a bit down "Can I see your cell phone for a moment?" The blue gem calmly asks Steven, he without a lot of trouble passes his phone to Lapis, who already knows the password of the hybrid of staring at him when he turns on the machine "...Within a few minutes it is already Saturday, our date is now" The blue gem declares calmly observing the time on Steven's cell phone.

"But we have nothing planned" The hybrid mentions a little surprised, but Lapis dismisses Steven's claim with a small movement of her hand.

"Let's watch movies with Spinel" The blue gem responds simply, she and the hybrid straighten up on the couch, sitting on the furniture while they are waiting for Spinel. Steven extends his hand to Lapis, which she grips tightly "Steven...it's not our fault, we still don't know why Centi's sisters got corrupted. Don't be sad." The blue gem exclaims empathically with the hybrid.

"I do not feel responsible for this Lapis, but I feel sad, one of our friends is going through a bad time and there is nothing we can do now" Steven exclaims seriously, the hybrid swallows saliva while Lapis is speechless. The blue gem strokes Steven's hand for a few moments.

"We will find a way to solve it" Lapis assures with conviction, smiling at the hybrid.

"... Yes, we will" Steven smiles at the blue gem.

Lapis places her head on the shoulder of the hybrid, while Spinel finally returns, it seems that the pink gem returned from a personal adventure among all the garbage in her house "I found many films" Spinel exclaims with emotion, it seems that the blue gem is at point of asking a question "None is porn, Lapis" The pink gem mentions.

"That's disappointing" Lapis responds with a laugh while Steven is somewhat embarrassed by the joke. On the other hand Spinel after a small laugh places the films on the floor and she puts the first of the tower on television, then the initial credits appear, the pink gem will sit together with her two friends.

Steven is a little confused, when he occasionally turns to see the gems, Spinel is staring at him but she quickly looks away, it seems like she was holding something, Lapis knows about this, a small smile forms on her face watching the hybrid and the pink gem, the film goes to the background for her, although Steven and Spinel try to stay focused on the feature film.

"... Steven" The blue gem murmurs attracting the attention of the hybrid, Lapis is almost whispering in Steven's ear "What do you think of Spinel?" The blue gem asks curiously.

"You know, she is my best friend" The hybrid responds in a whisper with a smile, as many times before, Lapis passes her arm behind Steven's neck "Why the question?" The hybrid asks the blue gem with curiosity, since she is looking at him in a strange way.

"I don't say it because of jealousy, but...Have you ever been attracted to her?" Lapis asks curiously surprising Steven, the hybrid does not know what to answer for a few moments, so he runs his hand over his neck "Come on Steven, I have to explain something to you" The blue gem mentions with emotion, with a low tone.

"... Something like that, in truth, my relationship with Spinel has always been very close but I swear we never did anything" Steven explains something nervous, sorry to talk about it to Lapis but then the smile of the blue gem widens. The hybrid is about to ask why the question but then the blue gem releases its wings, trapping Spinel and Steven.

"I told you! Steven likes you" Lapis exclaims with emotion.

"Lapis, damn" The pink gem exclaims in embarrassment "Listen Steven don't pay attention to this" Spinel tries to talk but the blue gem stops her. Due to Lapis' strange hug, now the trio members are very close to each other, which is very awkward for the hybrid and the pink gem.

"Girls, I would like to know what is happening" Steven adds quite confused, Spinel would try to talk but then she gets discouraged and does not try, leaving the word to the blue gem, she is very happy right now, and naturally the pink gem and the hybrid can feel how she squeezes them tightly.

"I asked Spinel if she loved you, and she does. And you are attracted to her, so I would like you two to date too, I really love you both very much and I think we can all be happy" Lapis sentence with emotion.

"You're a pervert that's what happens" Spinel responds blushing with a hint of annoyance, on the other hand Steven is very surprised and somewhat uncomfortable by the words of the blue gem.

"Do you just realize that I am a pervert now?" Lapis asks calmly and apparently innocently, sending a small shiver down the backs of the hybrid and the pink gem.

"No" Spinel responds with certainty regarding that issue.

"Lapis, I uh...Why would you want something like that?" Steven asks nervously, however his gaze meets that of the pink gem, they then quickly look away. "I mean...couples usually don't work like that, although there are people who do but..." Steven exclaims in confusion.

The head of the hybrid is spinning, the confusion causes a few drops of sweat to fall on his forehead, there is a small blush on his face but then the pink gem stretches a little and she places her hand on Steven's shoulder, she too she's pretty flushed "Listen Steven, you don't have to accept. Yes, Lapis is right, I feel something for you not only as a best friend but I understand very well that you two are in a relationship and personally I would not like to be a bad third" Spinel exclaims on a rational and civilized way but still she is nervous.

"I think I understand that it can be confusing, but personally I don't see anything wrong. Steven's mother was with Pearl and Greg at the same time, they also forgive me for saying it but it shows a lot that you two love each other, I don't think it's it is normal for two people to sing and dance in the rain, or the way you two interact" Lapis responds simply, she undoes her wings and hugs her two friends with her arms "Come on Steven, do it for your best friend" The gem Blue whispers into the ear of the hybrid with a small smile.

"... I had no idea that you felt that way, Spinel." Steven mentions nervously, he grabs the collar of his shirt and moves it a little. Spinel looks down somewhat shyly, she tries to take her hand off the shoulder of the hybrid but then he takes the hand of the pink gem "I won't force you to anything you don't want" Steven says kindly, smiling at Spinel, fortunately the pink gem doesn't need oxygen because she runs out of air.

"Ah, victory" Lapis sentences with emotion as she watches Steven and Spinel, even a little shy, the pink gem kisses the hybrid on the lips, less perverted than the first ones that the blue gem gave Steven "... Listen, you two know that I have rare impulses" Lapis mentions and she suddenly gives a spanking to Steven, the hybrid almost falls unconscious by surprise while the sound of the blow filled Spinel's house. In the next moments, Steven and Spinel are chasing Lapis with pillows to hit the blue gem, she is laughing a lot.

******

**[In the morning]**

Steven goes to work while Lapis goes to visit Peridot, so they both do a certain part of the tour together, Spinel for her part goes off to buy some things for the trip, getting closer and closer "Are you sure you feel good with this? " The hybrid asks timidly, meanwhile Lapis nods calmly.

"I already told you that I don't know how relationships normally work, if you two love each other too, I don't see a problem" The blue gem responds indifferently, Steven for his part nervously asks Lapis to stop and wait "What are you going to do?" The blue gem asks with confusion watching as the hybrid moves away a few moments with his money, then he returns with two bouquets

"One is for you and another one for Spinel" Steven blushes quite mentioning delivering the flowers to Lapis, she smiles to the hybrid at the gesture.

"You are very sweet for your own good, I will give them to Spinel when I see her again" The blue gem mentions giving Steven a kiss on the cheek "Good luck at work" Lapis says goodbye to the hybrid in a corner, while he was going to the car wash. The blue gem attends the hotel where Peridot lives "Oh I almost forgot, today I also have to attend a meeting with Agate" Lapis exclaims remembering her next meeting.

The blue gem will calmly open the door of Peridot's apartment, but when she enters she discovers the lights out, with some scrap metal on the floor and the green gem working on the table "Peridot?" Lapis asked surprised to see Peridot work on the metal prosthesis they gave him recently.

"Lapis! I almost repaired this thing" The green gem mentions with emotion showing the mechanism of that little machine, although that was personally something Lapis did not understand.

"Very well Peridot, but I really wanted to give you some news" The blue gem mentions, Peridot is somewhat curious and she moves some of her recent work to give space to Lapis, she sits in a chair in front of Peridot "Well, now I am Steven's girlfriend "The blue gem mentions with emotion.

"Yes! My ship became a canon, this is a fact that happens every 1000 years" Peridot shouts with euphoria starting to run through her apartment, to Lapis confusion.

******

In another place, Bismuth returns to Bech City with curiosity to find Pink Diamond in the office where she works, the multicolored gem greets the diamond with emotion "Do you remember the war, Bismuth?" Pink asks curiously.

"There is no way I can forget her" Bismuth answers calmly, although she is somewhat surprised "Why the question?" The multicolored gem exclaims, it was not the first time they talked about the war, but it was strange the way Pink Diamond had called her so suddenly and without much warning.

"... Look, it's something strange but she came back" The diamond says, although Bismuth is still a little confused.


	40. Smile with fangs

**[Thousands of years ago]**

Pink Diamond is centered on her throne, an expression of boredom is constantly on her face as she sees a map with the movements of the Crystal Gems rebels in real time, Pearl is loyally next to her. But then suddenly on the map she observes how an entire island, the main base of the rebels, suddenly sinks into the ocean "What ?!" The diamond mentions terrified, Pink's surprise is huge to see how all that just disappeared.

"What...What happened?" Pearl asks terrified, it's almost as if she wanted to throw up, but gems aren't supposed to do that, it was just a very human feeling that runs through the white gem. Instantly Pink Diamond and her Pearl are heading to the place of the mysterious event, a few drops of sweat come down the front of the diamond while she tries to contact her sisters, but there is no answer.

The minutes are very tense for Pink as she finally arrives at the place, on the coast of what is now as the Atlantic Ocean, her armies seem to be celebrating, Atlantis is gone. Hundreds of thousands of gems and humans disappeared in the vast ocean "...Who did this?" Pink asks some of the official quartz, her voice falters for a few moments, weakness, she is very emotional.

The voices of the officers resonate for a few moments, it is quite confusing for the diamond but then the quartz opens a path to the blue camp that remains on the coast, a group of Lapis is recovering objects from the ocean, remains of Atlantis, even then, Pink can see how there are already corpses or shattered gems coming to the coast. Her fault, all her fault. The diamond is fixed on the flag, the Blue Diamond symbol stands out above the rest.

Pink Diamond and her Pearl enter, finding a Lapis sitting in a simple chair, patient and calm while she waits for the diamond to speak, but there are no words from Pink, she can't speak it's like the words just didn't come out from her mouth "A spy told us a weakness in the security of Atlantis...Rose Quartz was not on the island, we will continue the search for the leader of the rebellion but most of the Crystal Gems leadership was cut off, their days are counted from now" Lapis reports seriously, then a smile forms on her face.

The diamond observes the fangs in the blue gem's smile, a shiver runs through Pink Diamond's entire body as she stares at Lapis. So many dead friends in that event "...Who ordered you to do that? Blue?" The diamond suddenly asks with annoyance, although Pink Diamond's childish tone comes to light.

"No one, my diamond. But I could not miss an opportunity like this, otherwise the rebels could have maintained the position on the island" Lapis responds indifferently "If they are not willing to follow the authority, I can take certain freedoms to end them" The blue gem exclaims calmly, her hands briefly touch the table of the place "...Do you want to take a seat, my diamond? You do not look in good condition" Lapis asks in confusion.

"Why? Not everyone in Atlantis was Crystal Gems!" Pink Diamond complains with annoyance, trying to show her authority to the blue gem. The ground breaks beneath the feet of the diamond, but Lapis is not impressed, she keeps her eyes fixed on those of Pink Diamond. The fang smile of the blue gem remains, but only to be replaced by a face of indifference after some moments.

"Do those individuals matter more than the innocent killed by the Crystal Gems?" Lapis asks with a hint of curiosity, almost as if she were judging Pink Diamond, instead of being the other way around, the diamond's feet tremble for a few moments. Pearl's face twists, but the blue gem does not give much importance to the white gem, after all, she was just another Pearl, Lapis would forget how her face was in a matter of moments.

"You...you can't go without blame for this" Pink Diamond sentences with small tears in her eyes before leaving the camp with Pearl, leaving Lapis confused. A few days later, Pink Diamond and Blue Diamond officers stop Lapis for a new type of crime.

******

**[Present]**

"How could they have released her?" Bismuth confused question.

"Well, the project Little Homeworld accepts that everyone can have a rehabilitation process to leave the prison, and putting a life sentence on a gem is stupid because we are immortal and therefore we can comply any criminal sentence that involves being imprisoned for years, we would eventually be released" Pink Diamond explains calmly and with some obviousness.

"...And you are telling me that she is meeting with Steven" The multicolored gem exclaims curiously "Are you afraid of her doing something to him?" Bismuth asks curiously.

"Oh, Lapis is already doing something to Steven. She's sticking her tongue in my son's mouth...By the way, I didn't tell you, but I kick out Steven of the house," Pink replies seriously, if Bismuth had had been drinking something she would have spit on the face of the diamond for the comment about the relationship between Lapis and the hybrid, on the other hand the fact that Pink had kick out Steven of the house would also have caused that reaction in the multicolored gem, but the mention of the diamond was almost anecdotal in that regard.

"Steven is dating her ?!" Bismuth asks surprised.

"Well, I don't know" Pink responds calmly "According to Pearl, that happened but I have no idea if they are a couple now or something, I should have asked Greg about that, maybe he knows" Pink responds calmly, she then look at her hands for a few moments "What do you think I should do?" The diamond asks curiously.

"Why do you ask me ?!" Bismuth asks altered "I go to a vacation for a few months and this happens" The multicolored gem stresses with fatigue.

"Several reasons, I need emotional support and you are one of my closest friends without being directly linked to my family as Pearl, and I am also the type of person who is not satisfied with what I already have" Pink Diamond responds calmly and even with a small arrogant smile "Look, I don't know exactly what we have to do, but first I want Lapis as far away from Steven, if she discovers my past... our past" The smile of the diamond widens "We can be in danger, and secondly I want the best for Steven" Pink says seriously.

"And what's best for Steven?" Bismuth asks with a small grimace of uncertainty.

"What I say is the best for him" The diamond responds calmly. The multicolored gem lowers her shoulders, she remembers the failed war of Rose Quartz. Pink Diamond rises slightly from her seat and walks around Bismuth, the diamond places one of her hands on the shoulder of the multicolored gem "This is the best for the world we build, Bismuth" Pink Diamond exclaims.

The small tone of the diamond makes Bismuth's eyes turn pink for a few moments, it's like an injection directly in the brain. "Okay but ...What do I do if I can't convince her to get away from Steven? Or if she already know the truth about the rebellion?" The multicolored gem asks, Pink is not impressed, she is indifferent.


	41. Building unity

Steven walks with some emotion towards the car wash, not only for the fact of working but for commenting on his father about the news that he had finally gotten a girlfriend but then the hybrid stops to think for a few moments "...Should I tell him about Spinel or just about my courtship with Lapis? I didn't think about how dad would take something like that." The hybrid thinks a little nervously, so he pulls out his cell phone before arriving to make a call.

"Hi?" Connie asks a little bored answering the call "Steven, I'm doing some work. What do you need?" The Indian teenager asks with curiosity although a small yawn comes out of her while he can listen how she writes or does calculations at her desk.

"Oh, first of all, good luck" Steven exclaims with kindness, which Connie calmly thanks "Well, let's say that in a hypothetical case...one person is dating two other people, and everything is consensual. What is your opinion about that? In which countries do things like this and so on happen? " Steven asks curiously.

"Bigamy? Well, I do not have a very formed opinion on this subject, but I could tell you a bit about the legality of that system in the world, it is practically not recognized as valid in the Americas, Europe and Oceania. In Africa, South Asia and Middle East there are quite a few countries that accept bigamy or polygamy as a form of marriage, although they are not all" Connie calmly explains "Why do you ask?" The Indian girl adds curiously.

"Oh, nothing particular, just some news that I read on the internet" Steven quickly answers and he cuts the call with Connie, with a rather short farewell "Well, I'm not married with Spinel and Lapis, I'm not breaking any law" The hybrid reason quickly. So he walks back to his father's car wash, but Steven is still not completely clear on his words, he would not like to leave any of the girls aside or lie to his own father.

"Hey hello Steven" Greg greets with a small bead of sweat on his forehead when he sees his son arrive, Steven reciprocates the greeting with a smile. The hybrid sees that his father has already started to wash a car, so taking off his jacket Steven rushes to work "... You know, Pink came recently" Greg tries to explain, but his words quickly tense the hybrid.

"What did she want?" Steven asks quickly.

"She is worried about you and wants you to come home" The adult tries to explain but for his part, the hybrid frowns.

"I'm sure those were not her words" Steven responds seriously, for his part Greg denies quickly but just as quickly as that, he begins to nod with a simple face, sometimes Staven had that reaction, it was a move that the hybrid inherited from his father "I sorry for cause you problems dad" Steven regrets very sorry but Greg quickly denies.

"Don't worry Steven, I don't regret it. Besides, your mother cares a lot about you, only that she does it her own way" The adult points calmly, patting the hybrid on the shoulder. But still Steven looks kind of sad "Is there something else you want to talk about?" Greg asks trying to cheer up the hybrid.

"How can you be like that with someone who treats you so badly?" The hybrid asks with confusion, for his part the human is calm.

"Life is like this Steven, there was a time when my love for Pink was even bigger than now but the important thing is that ... I forgive Pink for many things, mainly because she gave birth to you, whether we like her or not. Pink is part of our lives, but I do not regret it because you are the best thing that could have happened to me" Greg mentions with joy but then Steven is crying hugging his father. The adult lets out a small laugh as he reciprocates the hybrid's hug.

There are some pleasant moments of silence between Greg and Steven "... Now I have a girlfriend" The hybrid declares regaining his composure, but surprising his father. Greg excitedly picks up his son.

"Really?! We have to celebrate that, tell me all the details" The adult exclaims with emotion as he drags Steven, they both leave the job halfway while Greg goes to talk to his son "So...who is the lucky girl?" The adult asks serving Steven a glass of orange juice.

"... Lapis" Steven responds and a pretty silly smile invades his face, Greg is calm and smiles as the hybrid is explaining how he started dating Lapis.

"Sounds good Steven, good luck. You must understand that these types of relationships are serious but you should still enjoy every moment" Greg calmly mentions while the hybrid continues to drink juice, he decides not to talk about his relationship with Spinel to his father, for now.

******

Lapis returns home to find Spinel organizing the purchases "Hey Lapis" The pink gem waves, but then she notices how the blue gem is dragging Peridot, who seems unconscious "What the hell happened?" Spinel exclaims with concern but for her part Lapis shrugs her shoulders in bewilderment.

"I'm not sure, I was talking to Peridot about how I started dating Steven and she fell knocked out, I didn't even get to the good part where I made you and Steven kiss" The blue gem responds nonchalantly and she shoots the green gem on the sofa "Oh yeah, and Steven bought this for you" Lapis exclaims excitedly pulling out one of the bouquets for Spinel.

"How cute! Very nice detail from him" The pink gem exclaims excitedly stretching around the flowers and crushing them by mistake, but she ignores that and remains quite touched by the gesture of the hybrid.

"... If Steven is our boyfriend, does that mean you're my girlfriend too?" Lapis suddenly asks curiously.

"If you think in any of your perverted things, I'm going to beat the shit out of you" Spinel claims seriously, while a grim smile forms on the face of the blue gem.

"I'm just kidding you" Lapis assures, but the pink gem has a mark on her face that she does not believe in the words of the mocking blue gem. Although actually in the kitchen Lapis behaves quite decently "Today I have to go to a meeting with Agate. Do you want to come?" The blue gem delivers calmly.

"Yes. Steven is going too?" Spinel asks nonchalantly.

"It offends me that you ask" Lapis jokes confidently, a small laugh comes out of the mouth of the pink gem "...Oh wait we have to wake Peridot, she has to go too" The blue gem exclaims looking at the unconscious green gem "How do we do it?" Lapis asks curiously but then she sees Spinel make a fighting move to Peridot who instantly wakes her up "I like how you think" Lapis exclaims jumping in another fighting move against the two gems.

Before long the two gems leave the house with Peridot in pain going on the back of the blue gem, the group goes to pick up Steven but then by chance Lapis collides in a corner with Bismuth "Sorry" The multicolored gem exclaims nonchalantly without not even watch Lapis.

"No problem" The blue gem responds calmly, the two of them will cross their paths back, but another day.


	42. I can get out of town! (part 1)

Lapis, Peridot and Spinel arrive just in time for when Steven is about to leave work, although the time limit for the meeting of the blue gem becomes increasingly shorter "Hello Lapis!" Greg greets while Steven stretches a bit after spending more time sitting with his father and talking than actually working.

"Hello there" The blue gem greets with excitement, the human and Lapis are about to speak while the hybrid watches, but the green gem interrupts the conversation in a surprising way.

"Yeah everyone here is happy that Lapis and Steven are dating or things like that but my fear for Agate, right now, is greater than my love for a ship so we don't have time to stay here and have a talk between father-in-law and daughter-in-law" Peridot exclaims quickly. In any case, the cheerful Greg and Lapis ignore her to talk for a few minutes, although it is not a conversation as deep or emotional as the one the human had with his son.

The group of gems and the hybrid quickly leave the car wash for the meeting of the blue gem with Agate, with Steven and Spinel remaining outside the office. The taller of the two blue gems begins like other gatherings, writing down a few things in her notebook "So? How has it been since the last time we spoke, Lapis?" Agate asks curiously but keeping the talk as professional as possible.

"Fine" Lapis replies simply.

"More than fine, Lapis now has a boyfriend!" Peridot adds as she rubs her knuckle through the blue gem hair, Lapis ignores the friendly gesture, with a brotherly connotation. Agate raises her eyebrow for a few moments in surprise, but then she re-notes the information provided by the green gem.

"Very well, I did not expect that result but I suppose that it is good that you got it" Agate calmly mentions "Tell me, has this served you as an experience? Anything you want to share?" The blue gem asks Lapis with some curiosity.

"Are you asking me about my psychological state or are you asking me because you are single and want to know what it is like to have a boyfriend?" Lapis asks curiously, annoying Agate on purpose, Peridot quickly tries to make the blue gem apologize but as always, her efforts are useless in that regard, although thankfully Agate quickly lets the incident pass.

"Then let's ignore your new relationship, although I have to say it's good that you have a stronger support network than before. Tell me, do you have any plans or questions?" Agate asks curiously about to finish the report.

"... Can I go on a trip? I mean. Can I legally leave the city for a while? My friends and I are planning to go on a trip" Lapis explains, Peridot hesitates for a few moments, she does not remember if the blue gem had told her about the trip or not, in truth the green gem lost a lot of time in her personal affairs, and even some information could have been lost.

"Well, you have been well behaved, but I must say that you must be in contact with me and with a witness that you are completing the trip, and not doing nothing illegal. Exactly, what friends are going to the trip?" Agate asks curiously.

"Steven and Spinel, and perhaps a Nephrite named Centi. Peridot is busy with a project and we don't know if she has enough time to come with us," Lapis explains, her words make sense to Peridot. Agate searches her desk and passes it to the blue gem, she must fill it out and return the paper to Agate, shortly after that paperwork Lapis and Peridot can leave the office of the blue gem.

Peridot sighs to see that there were not many problems in this meeting, but then she runs after her companions who are quickly leaving the place, with the legal permission, they will probably need some suitcases and other objects.

******

In another part of the city, while Spinel, Steven and Lapis are cuddling, in the car wash, Greg is taking things easy, until suddenly Jasper arrives a little nervous and obviously drunk "Hey Jasper" The human greets with calm, though he quickly worries about the state of the orange gem. Jasper is about to speak but then Bismuth appears out of nowhere.

"How about Greg, so long" The multicolored gem calmly exclaims "Am I interrupting something?" Bismuth asks gently looking at Jasper and Greg.

"I'm not sure" the human mentions with some confusion.

"I feel sad and I don't know very well why" The orange gem explains with concern.

"Yes, you are not the first person to tell me that" Greg and Bismuth declare sincerely, but then Jasper leans (a little difficult because of her condition) towards the human, the white hair of the orange gem covers the head of Greg.

"...Do you want to go on a date with me?" Jasper asks in a strange emotional facet of herself.

"... Ok it seems that if I'm interrupting something, I'm going to wait outside" Bismuth calmly mentions leaving the place.


	43. I can get out of town! (part 2)

Bismuth waits outside while Greg and Jasper are talking, the human had offered the orange gem a chair, changing shape, the multi-colored gem becomes tiny, and re-enters to spy on the conversation between Greg and Jasper "What happened?" The human asks calmly, offering a glass of water to Jasper, which she quickly drinks, although in reality a gem cannot be dehydrated.

"Well, look...you trusted me with all of your emotions with the diamond boy and so on, and I'm really very happy for you two, the thing of work together and all that but. I have an enormous loyalty to Pink Diamond and when she asked me where Steven was working I revealed it to her, and I feel that in a certain sense I betrayed your trust and...you are one of the few friends I have" The orange gem suddenly explains, like a dam breaking and releasing tears after having contained her emotions. 

"Oh...well, I'm surprised but I don't feel betrayed, it's normal, I suppose, I've always seen that gems are very loyal to diamonds. I don't think this will negatively affect our friendship" Greg calmly explains and he extends his hand towards Jasper as a gesture of kindness, however the human almost writhes when the orange gem suddenly squeezes it. Jasper is like a bear, she is very big and could tear someone apart in seconds if it is very close and she is not in the mood.

"Sorry" The orange gem exclaims after that gesture.

"It's okay" Greg exclaims, catching his breath, "Now, talking about all that thing of dating. Jasper, listens, I have no problem with that but I want to make sure you think about it well, I don't want it to be the effect of alcohol or effect of your regret, because those are not good bases to form a relationship. Call me once you have thought" The human kindly explains, Jasper nods at his words and gets up from her seat.

"I will" The orange gem says goodbye to Greg surprisingly affectionate. The human smiles as the orange gem is gone, worse then Bismuth changes shape behind Greg.

"Pink had told me that you were someone quite kind, but I have to admit that that was more charming than I could have expected" The multicolored gem calmly mentions, making the human be frightened by her sudden words from his back "Oh don't be scared, I'm not coming to kill you or something similar" Bismuth exclaims with indifference.

"Well then don't scare me, I have a pretty sensitive heart" Greg replies rather shyly "What does Pink want now?" The human asks curiously.

"Yes, Pink likes you for various reasons, that's one" Bismuth mentions ignoring the question in the first place, but her words make Greg look away "I want to know a little more about Steven and Lapis. Are they both dating? If you dated Pink, I don't think you mind if your son dates such a dangerous gem but it is always better to be cautious" Bismuth calmly mentions.

"If Pink wants to know that, she should just talk to Steven" Greg answers honestly, but for her part, the multi-colored gem frowns.

"You already know her, she can be very stubborn. Just answer, yes or no" Bismuth says seriously, the human gulps looking up and down at the multicolored gem, naturally taller and more muscular than he "I don't care the whole reputation thing like Pink Diamond does, but I'm very interested in Steven's safety, and for him to be safe, I need you to answer" Bismuth presses a step toward Greg, imposing her authoritative figure on the human.

"Steven is one of the people I care about the most in this world, but I don't think he is in danger" Greg replies.

"He will be if he opens his mouth too much" Bismuth responds without any emotion, she is simply direct and her words hit the ears of the confused human, who looks curiously at the multicolored gem "I don't know how much you know about Pink's past, but Steven knows a lot" Bismuth sentences seriously "I just need you to say a word, do it" The multicolored gem orders.

"... Yes" Greg accepts feeling a chill down his spine.

******

Steven is sitting together with Spinel and Lapis "I'm sorry I didn't tell dad anything about you." The hybrid is sentimentally lamenting over the pink gem, which like the blue gem, she's patting Steven on the head.

"Don't worry Steven, I mean, this kind of relationship is not that common. We have to take it easy. Did you hear me Lapis?" Spinel exclaims lovingly, but she grows more serious as she addresses the smiling Lapis, her mocking face addressing Steven and the pink gem. The blue gem places her head too far above the hybrid's neck.

"I listen carefully Spinel, I firmly believe that the important thing is not whether the rest find out or not. Nor is it that the opinion of many people matters to me, I believe that the important thing is that we have fun" Lapis exclaims calmly looking at Spinel, but her breath is very present on Steven's skin. The hybrid feels a little shiver, his hands are around the waists of the gems, but he then seems to feel the fangs of the blue gem very close to his skin.

A small blush invades Spinel and Steven, the pink gem watches as Lapis's lips are expectantly giving small kisses on the hybrid's neck. Spinel stretches her neck and she kisses Steven on the lips, surprising the hybrid, but it was a measure to prevent him from screaming when Lapis started to biting him on the neck. But then there is a loud clapping from outside that interrupts the group, quite confused about that sound that draws their attention.

"...I hate a lot of things, the person on the outside is going to be one of those things" Lapis exclaims in annoyance as Steven straightens flushed and Spinel separates from the kiss. The hybrid and the gems go towards the door. Finding that without stepping into the house, Pink Diamond is there "... Oh no, the mother-in-law" The blue gem exclaims "You have to deal with it Steven" Lapis sentences calmly.

"Lapis is right" Spinel accompanies the blue gem in that opinion, the two of them stand behind the hybrid.

"Okay...I can do it" Steven sighs taking courage, he opens the door but he does not take a step forward, his hand remains firm on the handle "This is costing me more than it seems" The hybrid sentenced sweating, his mother does not give a word, she is just staring blankly at the group, as if she expected something.

"Do you think if we go back inside and wait, she will leave?" Lapis asks Spinel curiously, but the pink gem quickly denies. Steven finally takes a few steps, approaching his mother, she is silent, while Lapis and Spinel are almost in the door frame.

"...Pink" Steven greets gulping.

"How does it feel to be independent for now? Do you want to go back?" The diamond asks with apparent indifference, her eyes fixed on her son, she does not have much doubt. Steven by his side low his shoulders and looks at the ground for a moment, looking for the correct words.

"I see it's complicated, and I miss mom but...I'm not going back" Steven ends up raising his head a little to return the gaze to Pink, they are both like some kind of animals, maybe it's a challenge or maybe it is only the discomfort of the environment that affects them.

"Your mother will be very sad, and I am very disappointed. I saw in the reports from the last Lapis meeting that you plan to travel. Why?" Pink Diamond asks curiously, in reality her words are not particularly furious or incriminating, but deep down they are a hard blow to the hybrid.

"...We are looking for more information on corruption" Steven points out, but he does not want to give away all the information he has about Centi and her sisters "Did you find any way to cure corruption?" The hybrid asks with concern, for her part the diamond does not move, she moves her hands to take out a pen and paper.

"No, not completely. The other diamonds and I managed to find a way to partially cure it, but corruption is like a psychological disorder or a kind of disease, it is difficult to eliminate it, more difficult in some cases than in others. In fact, also, we found a ...strange...type of gems, they are not corrupt, but they are not...normal...If you want to know more, come to this address "Pink explains as she writes the address, giving Steven the paper .

The hybrid looks at the paper and saves it "Pink...do you know about the news?" Steven asks shyly.

"...Yes, Bismuth told me a few minutes ago" Pink Diamond responds nonchalantly, she suddenly places her hand on the hybrid's shoulder, he can barely see it but Steven is sure that she can see the small bite marks on his neck "...Never reveal anything about Rose Quartz, and if you do, is better if the press don't know nothing about that, because then I will know" Pink Diamond orders, and unlike other occasions, Steven feels his face burn, as a kind of memory from that time the diamond hit him.

"Or what?" Steven challenges the diamond.

"...Well, accidents can happen at any time, and I always have little blue friends with wings who take some very interesting pictures" Pink Diamond calmly mentions, then she takes some pictures of Steven fighting with a corrupt gem, and another more recent one of the hybrid with Lapis, practically this morning when he had bought flowers for her and Spinel "I tell you something, public spaces are a shit sometimes. As long as you are not slandered in the news, it is quite easy to take photos. Now...photos taken out of context, and with the right money, can make a life become a living hell. Yes? " Pink calmly mentions.

"...Yes" Steven sentences, the diamond moves from Spinel's house and the hybrid returns with Lapis and Spinel. They quickly notice that Steven is not feeling very well, perhaps it is a feeling like dizziness. The group looks around, it seems that for now there is nobody, but due to the hybrid they enter quickly, locking everything and covering the windows after Steven explains about the photographs that Pink can take whenever she wants.

"So ...are you going to that address?" Spinel asks with concern taking the hybrid's hand.

"I don't think it's a trap" Lapis mentions surprising the pink gem, and Steven. The blue gem places her arms around his neck in a kind of hug "I mean, it is very suspicious, yes, but it would incriminate her too much if something happened to us or Steven after her visit, also she seems to have many more means than something so obvious if she try something" Lapis explains with some skepticism.

"...If this helps us help corrupt gems, I'm going to go" The hybrid sentences seriously, kissing Lapis's hands. The blue gem and Spinel huddle together with Steven to sleep on the couch "I don't want anything bad to happen to you two" The hybrid mentions with concern.

"Neither do we want something bad to happen to you, so don't do anything stupid" Lapis mentions kissing Steven on the forehead.

"That's complicated" Spinel mentions "And I'm talking about that the three of us do...a lot of stupid things" The pink gem adds, and at her words, the hybrid and the blue gem can only nod, because it was true.


	44. Dark times

Steven gets up early, finding Spinel and Lapis sleeping with him on the couch, the hybrid gets up to perform his daily personal hygiene. Once he's done, Steven checks the address his mother had given him. The hybrid tries to use his cell phone to get some information, but he doesn't find much about that hospital where his mother apparently goes to study the corrupt gems.

"Good morning," Lapis greets, waking up still a little sleepy, to Steven's surprise. "Are you going to go early?" The blue gem asks curiously.

"Yes, I plan to visit the address Pink gave me" The hybrid responds calmly, taking a few steps towards Lapis "Go back to sleep, I think you need a nap" Steven mentions taking a few steps towards her and ruffling the hair of the blue gem, for her part, she remains indifferent to the hybrid's gesture.

"Nah, I don't need it. But being very attached to humans makes me want to sleep" Lapis responds calmly "Good luck Steven" The blue gem smiles at Steven, who returns the gesture kindly. The hybrid leans in to kiss Lapis and Spinel on the forehead, the second of which is asleep at the moment.

"Say goodbye to Spinel from me" Steven mentions saying goodbye to the blue gem, she lies down once more on the sofa. Stroking the hair of the pink gem a little while the hybrid closes the door behind him as he leaves, the place is somewhat far from the city, Beach City is in almost constant expansion, the place was not on the periphery but was a little further than Steven is used to traveling.

When the hybrid arrives he still sees normal neighborhoods, but finally he arrives at the hospital, without fanfare, without vigilants, it seems quite empty apart of the receptionist, to whom Steven goes "Hey, I'm coming for my mother" The hybrid explains with certainty discomfort, in part because he has not been in a hospital too much in his life, shortly after Steven thinks that definitely was not the best choice of words when one is visiting a hospital, but the receptionist does not give many words, she just hands Steven a kind of pass and points him to a hallway to the right.

"... My mom started cryptic things very early in the morning" The hybrid growls with some annoyance following the instructions of that receptionist. The hallway has only one door that needs a pass, which in reality is not even at the end of the hall, it is only a door in the middle of the wall accompanied by other similar ones, but with a glass that prevents someone from seeing from the outside. Steven then opens it, finding a small room with descending stairs "... Hey" The hybrid greets his mother, sitting in the only chair in the room.

"You do have time to lose, don't you?" Pink calmly inquires getting up and just looking at her only son, she begins to descend, with Steven following the diamond towards that place "Listen, I ask you to be open-minded and control your bladder" Pink orders seriously, looking briefly to the hybrid, which for a few moments is not sure to respond by simply looking at his mother to know that she is serious "I will explain the things you will see in a few moments" The diamond assures.

"Yes, I don't believe you" Steven replies to Pink seriously, the diamond just sighs in annoyance and continues descending. The steps of both are particularly synchronized, reaching a kind of plant soon after, there are a kind of rooms sheltered in various materials, some corrupt gems are freer than others, for example, one is on a leash like a kind of dog, another is in a pot and another needs chains on all its limbs "... Okay this is weird, but I'm sure it's not what you wanted to teach me" Steven exclaims.

"You are smarter than I remember" Pink jokes seriously, making her son frown, but she only gives him a small smile "Yellow is dealing precisely with the gems I told you about" The diamond explains and walks towards a room with a door to that place, that door looks like the one of a dungeon or some kind of prison, opening after a minute thanks to Pink entering a code in it. Steven has his eyes covered by his mother before entering, to his annoyance, then Pink uncovers him.

At first Steven noticed her aunt Yellow immediately, the problem that she was yellow made her stand out in many places, but this only momentarily diverted the attention of the hybrid, which happened to focus on a strange kind of gem on a stretcher, as if it were made up of limbs and various parts of the anatomy of a humanoid, with multiple colors and even what looks like fabric instead of skin "Well you're not really vomiting or ruining your pants" Pink exclaims with a small note of pride in the end.

"Have you ever felt like you want to throw up and you can't?" Steven exclaims backing away a bit, he realizes there are more gems of that type there, starting to look at him, some of them don't even have eyes. The hybrid's hands search for something to hold on to momentarily even if it is, but they only find Pink's hands approaching him, which makes Steven come to his senses and quickly get away from his mother "Ok. What are they? That's one much better question" The hybrid exclaims, while the diamond looks at her hand for a few moments.

"First of all, you say hello. It's so good to see you Steven" Yellow exclaims turning to greet her nephew, practically ignoring the other gems in the room except for her family. Naturally Steven greets his aunt politely, although he is quite uncomfortable even at the strange gems that are next to them at the time. "Don't worry, for now they seem...harmless. After beating someone up they will always be more willing to cooperate" The diamond assures his nephew.

"I'm not sure that is really useful advice, usually when I hit someone that ends badly for the other person" Steven responds a little unsure, but his aunt and mother are quite ignorant of that matter, after all fighting it wasn't a big problem for the two of them "...What do I do if they try to touch me?" The hybrid asks, seeing literally two arms glued to each other moving across the floor.

"Kick them or something we're not here to talk about how to deal with blind things that start to creep up on you" Pink responds nonchalantly "Listen, this is the kind of gem I was talking about" The diamond exclaims earnestly, drawing the attention of Steven, she steps on the strange gem like nothing, and shows Steven that gem more closely "They are two fragments of gems united in one" Pink points indifferently, while her son feels a chill run down his spine.

"Wait! ... Is it possible to do that?" Steven exclaims in surprise, but nervously catches the gem his mother leaves in his hands.

"Yes" Yellow responds tactlessly, but that causes visible doubt in the hybrid.

"Well, you'll see we know about this because ... this was a kind of ... experiment we did, before the rebellion of Rose Quartz" Pink explains slowly, but then she sees her son momentarily gasping for air, so the diamond closes her eyes for a few moments.

"What?!" Steven yells, now he is pink, Yellow averts her eyes a little sadly as Pink opens her eyes "Is this your fault?! Again?!" The hybrid exclaims in annoyance.

"No, stop to listen to me for just a few moments. Yes, there was a time when we as leaders of all gems did this, we also experimented with possible memory deletions or how to restart a gem but that is less important, it was removed relatively easily. Now, we did similar processes, but these gems are still corrupt and unlike the ones we ... did, this cannot be assembled back together, or at least it does not serve to rid us of corruption. Someone else is making these gems" The diamond explains as serenely as she can.

"... Give me a moment," Steven exclaims and begins to bite his hand stifling a scream as he breaks the ground under his feet.

"... I miss when he was a baby" Pink Diamond exclaims a little grumpily while Yellow laughs looking at her sister and her nephew.

******

Steven is sitting devouring ice cream from that place. "Is this kind of like an attempt by you to repair our mother-son relationship or something?" The hybrid asks his mother that she is just sitting there watching him.

"No," Pink replies nonchalantly, and that's really all she needs to say. "We found out that we can heal them using some of the ... essence, of the four diamonds, but it turns out that it's not a permanent effect, there's something that prevents us to doing it" The diamond explains directly, surprising her son, who looks at her with much curiosity.

"What can block the power of a diamond?" Steven exclaims getting up quite confused, but for that question Pink remains silent "... Thanks for the information Pink, I have to go to work" The hybrid speaks a little shy, perhaps thoughtful. The diamond for her part decides to take a few steps behind Steven, which makes him turn around.

"... Be careful Steven, whatever happens, this is not a good thing" Pink orders seriously looking at her son, who for a few moments feels a chill run down his spine, he looks more like his mother in those moments of what Steven would like to admit.

******

**[A few hours later]**

Steven arrives a little annoyed at Spinel's house "You will not believe what!" The hybrid exclaims in anger, with his pink body, but then this disappears when he sees chocolate and other food remains lying on the ground and parts of the kitchen full of water, burning, or frozen or all of the above. In the middle of all that are Spinel and Lapis "..." The hybrid is silent.

"... Lapis try to cook" The pink gem clarifies calmly.

"It was more fun than I expected. How did it go to you?" The blue gem exclaims excitedly flying towards the hybrid to avoid touching the ground.

"Oh yes I have a lot to say but let's clean this up first" Steven sentences, but then Spinel stretches and Lapis flies away a little while they laugh at the hybrid that chases them to clean the house. The strange couple of three end up wasting more time than cleaning, but they finally get it, difficult to say how, but then Steven has to explain to the gems a couple of things, related to the corrupt gems and Greg.


	45. I don't want more moms (part 1, mini chapter)

"Shall I tell you something? I am not at all surprised that Pink and her sisters have tortured people, in fact I quite expected it" Spinel indifferently mentions while she drinks some tea, Lapis for her part has a fizzy drink and Steven is drinking a lot of coffee, everyone has their little drink after having to clean up the huge mess made by the blue gem.

"Weren't you Pink's friend or playmate, or something like that?" Lapis asks curiously with a small burp "For my part, I was completely sure that she must have done something like that, the story is not so precise about that but as someone who was in the army I assure you that torture is more normal than it seems. It is not as generalized as some might say, but it exists" The blue gem mentions.

"Being friends with someone is no reason to exempt their mistakes" The pink gem responds calmly, to which Steven and Lapis agree "And what was the other news, Steven?" Spinel asks curiously, at which point the hybrid realizes that he is wasting time, the pink gem and the blue gem notice how Steven turns pink and the race with coffee breaks in his hands.

"Jasper and my dad are going to go on a date" The hybrid exclaims while Lapis and Spinel were more worried about Steven's hand, although that makes the pink gem stop for a few moments and the blue gem starts laughing, causing that she drops a little of the drink from her mouth "It's not funny" Steven declares quickly, which hits Lapis, she goes to the bathroom to spit out some of her drink and come back.

"I thought you were joking" The blue gem exclaims in surprise "How the hell Jasper got a date?! I mean, I understand that your father likes big women but ... Jasper is Jasper" Lapis exclaims in surprise.

"I think the two of you are over-exaggerating a bit, I mean, yes, Jasper is not the friendliest person in the world but ... Wait, she has redeeming features? I don't know Jasper well enough to say something about her" Spinel reasonably exclaims, stretching around of the blue gem and the hybrid "What's the matter Steven?" The pink gem asks.

"Jasper" Lapis points out, though for her part Spinel silences the blue gem a bit, placing her hand on her mouth.

"The problem is not if Jasper has redeemable characteristics or not, the problem is that she wants to date...like, having a relationship with my dad ... and by the way I don't want to have Jasper as a stepmother. Although having Amethyst as an extended part of my family would not be a disadvantage, that It's not the point. The point is Jasper is probably going to do something to my dad" Steven responds with concern, knowing the possibly more unstable side of the orange gem.

"Break his hips?" The pink gem jokes but her joke only makes the hybrid sigh "Sorry, I couldn't contain that joke" Spinel laughs a little more, but then she feels her hand wet "... Lapis I'm going to punch you in the face" The pink gem exclaims seeing how Lapis's viperine tongue and her fangs begin to bite her hand. After Steven has solved Lapis' little problem with biting or licking the hand over her mouth, the group's conversation continues as if nothing had happened.

"So? What do you plan to do? Sabotage your father and Jasper's date?" The blue gem asks curiously "I could push Jasper away with psychological pressure if you like that" Lapis volunteers with a smile, but she becomes discouraged when she sees Steven deny "Why not? If you don't want Jasper to be your stepmother you have to do something" The blue gem asks curiously, in a rather preventive mindset.

"I mean, yeah, I don't want Jasper to have a relationship with my father but ... if my father agrees, I don't want to ruin anything for him" Steven sighs a little tiredly "I'm going to go on strike" The hybrid jokes, although Lapis doesn't understand the joke she sees Spinel giggle a little "I think neither of you should be too concerned about that, we should focus more on helping Centi and her sisters" Steven exclaims seriously.

But then Lapis does the same and takes her hand "Hey, let's go out a bit. You need to relax" The blue gem exclaims happily with the hybrid, although a little surprised by Lapis's change of mood, then she also takes the pink gem and drags her two companions.


	46. I dont want more moms (part 2, mini chapter)

"Very well. What do you want to do?" Steven asks confused, Lapis had taken Spinel and the hybrid to the forest where they had found the remains of that battlefield. At Steven's question, the blue gem just lifts his shoulders, rolling his eyes slightly at the pink gem. "Oh come on, you should have brought us here for a reason." The hybrid claims calmly.

"Well ... I don't know, I want you to relax. What do you want to do? It shows that Jasper and your father have you tense, so ..." Lapis exclaims and she innocently seems to put her hands behind From his back, looking for some word or answer from Steven, in reality the blue gem sometimes plans things well and others are simply a matter of chance and momentum. For his part, Steven remains silent for a few moments.

"Date outdoors?" The hybrid asks the gems.

"Sounds good to me," Spinel agrees with a smile as Lapis jumps into Steven's arms, almost knocking the hybrid over.

******

"Hey guys, look what I found!" Lapis exclaims moving gigantic bushes to find a lake, the blue gem does not take long to jump into the water and start swimming there. Spinel looks at Steven, the hybrid nods as he takes off his jacket to the side of the lake, the pink gem comes forward and she makes a cannonball next to Lapis, a little surprised by this.

"I think I stepped on some mud" Spinel exclaims after getting out underwater, laughing a little along with the blue gem "... Stop thinking about perverted things" The pink gem tells Lapis when seeing the blue gem looking Steven take off his shirt before entering the water.

"Pfff. You offend me. Do you think I would think perverted things about Steven?" Lapis exclaims, laughing at herself, unable to control herself.

"Do I have to answer you?" Spinel exclaims with a hint of sarcasm as she begins to float like an inflatable in the water. It doesn't take long for Steven to join the gems, although the pink gem begins to throw water on top of the hybrid while the blue gem submerges, the water games distract both Spinel and Steven while Lapis takes care of another matter.

Suddenly Steven feels a little tug as Lapis runs to shore "My pants ?!" The hybrid exclaims terrified seeing how the blue gem moves his pants like a flag, the pink gem for his part cannot stop laughing while Lapis runs off "Please Spinel, go for my pants" Steven pleads embarrassed.

"Haha! Right away...Haha!" The pink gem exclaims stretching out of the lake while the hybrid remains in the water "Lapis I hope you're not doing anything perverted!" Spinel jokes, but then she finds Lapis simply using the pants as a hat "... Shall we play a joke on Steven?" The pink gem offers.

"Of course" Lapis exclaims in response while she is smiling.

******

"It wasn't fun," Steven claims, drying his slightly wrinkled fingers, walking a bit awkward due to his wet pants. However Lapis who is laughing next to him kisses the hybrid on the side of the face.

"It was a lot of fun" The blue gem sentenced, she shakes Steven's arm a little, who in turn smiles at Lapis. Meanwhile Spinel is simply lying on the ground enjoying the wind, the hybrid and the blue gem then sit next to the pink gem, after that Steven starts humming a song that Lapis and Spinel start accompanying "Are you feeling happy?" The blue gem asks the hybrid during the song.

"Yes thanks" Steven smiles at Lapis out of concern, Spinel watches with a smile as his two friends kiss.

"... Don't start fucking next to me without inviting me" The pink gem exclaims embarrassing the hybrid and makes the blue gem laugh.

"I wouldn't hesitate to invite you," Lapis exclaims extremely seriously moments later, Spinel and Steven immediately are choking.

******

The group returns to Spinel's house, with the hybrid going to see his cell phone "Any news?" Spinel and Lapis ask Steven, although they are already observing the hybrid's cell phone without consent. Steven had just received a photo of Greg and Jasper taken by Amethyst "... Well, it seems that the two of them are very loving with each other" The pink gem exclaims looking at the photograph and looking away a little while the hybrid frowns a few moments.

"There is another message" The blue gem points indifferently leaning on Steven's shoulder, the group then notices that it is a Centi message "Oh no" Lapis exclaims surprised to see another photo, but this time of a new corrupted Nephrite. "...I don't want to be pessimistic, but ... maybe by the time we start the trip Centi and all her sisters are going to be already corrupted. We can't change the date, but that's worrying" The blue gem exclaims worried.

"I'll go to see Centi immediately," Steven declares.

"We are going to go with you" Spinel and Lapis respond, the hybrid does not say words and the trio runs towards the green gem house. Time was passing, although Steven will not fully accept the date between Jasper and his father, right now the corruption of the gems was a more important issue in the hybrid's mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate myself a lot when I don't do chapters of more than 1000 words.


	47. We can finally go

After dealing with another sister of Centi, Steven was feeling a bit depressed but when morning came, the hybrid had to go to work "Hey Dad, how was your date?" Steven asks curiously opening the doors of Greg's van, only to find his father with Jasper, not in the best situation to see them both. The hybrid closes the doors immediately and goes to Spinel's house, surprising the pink gem and Lapis.

"Why did you come back so early?" The blue gem and Spinel ask surprised while they see Steven go to the kitchen, the pink gem looks a little confused at Lapis, who for her part is flying to the kitchen, finding the hybrid lying on the floor "What happened?" The blue gem asks worried as she leans towards Steven a little, while Spinel stretches to reach her companions.

"My father and Jasper slept in the van ... Yes, in the sexual sense" The hybrid does not take long to answer Lapis, the pink gem drops her jaw a little, while the blue gem is silently she raises a hand "We are not going to harm Jasper" Steven responds emphatically, so Lapis lowers her hand "... I shouldn't have seen that but, there is nothing I can do anymore, I will call my father in a few hours to talk with him" The hybrid mentions rising from the floor.

"We lost Greg ... Hey by the way. How are we going on a trip?" Lapis asks curiously.

"Well technically I still have a car. I just have to go pick it up from Pink's house" Steven replies with a light sigh "It's going to be difficult" The hybrid mentions with a bit of nerves, but Spinel is a bit confused.

"Why? I don't think she wants to keep your car or something like that" The pink gem exclaims calmly.

"My mom is at Pink's house" Steven responds quickly, Spinel and the blue gem feel a chill run down their spines. The mission has just gotten a little more complicated, but the group has to find a means of transport so that everyone can travel to the place where the corruption of the Nephrites may have originated, so after a few hours, Steven heads to his old home accompanied by Lapis.

From a distance the hybrid and his girlfriend can hear how the mother of the first one is crying "I don't think I'm ready for this" Steven exclaims worried.

"Do you think I'm ready?" Lapis exclaims behind the hybrid.

Pink is fortunately there to help, although she is still not a good person, the diamond manages to contain Perla inside the house while Steven runs to his car.

******

"I am so happy that you two are alive!" Spinel exclaims hugging Lapis and Steven, who reciprocate the hug even a little terrified. After that slight inconvenience, Steven talked to his father to make sure everything was okay, it seems that Greg was asleep when Steven had gone to the car wash, it was better that the hybrid did not say anything to his father.

Time went by faster than the group could think, when the date to start the trip arrived, Spinel, Lapis and Steven went to look for Centi. However, in The Barn, a surprised Peridot is going to try to talk to the group, but they are already moving away from Beach City "... Do any of you want to listen to some music?" The hybrid offers the gems, Centi is quieter than usual.

"Sure" Lapis and Spinel agree, so Steven searches for a CD in the glove compartment of his car. The road is long and at first many people are leaving, the usual tourism traffic and many other factors, despite all Lapis, Steven and Spinel are talking calmly, Centi on the other hand is only looking out the window and spitting a little acid to some bird she watches.

Peridot crashes into a signal after running after the group, which continues to advance. As the kilometers pass, the road is becoming a little more empty and fewer people are seen, but they were still very far from their destination, the green gem for its part is giving insults in a low voice while the idea of their friends forces it to keep walking behind.

*******

After the first few hours of travel, it was already getting dark "We can stop for a few moments and buy something" Lapis suggests to Steven, the hybrid at first doubt, but seeing the gems, he decides that maybe it is a good idea. Next to a gas station Steven starts to fill up some fuel while Spinel and Lapis start buying some goodies.

"You do not want anything?" The hybrid asks Centi a little concerned.

"No" The green gem responds nonchalantly "I wish I was drinking something, I enjoy it more than eating or other things" Centi exclaims calmly laughing a little, mainly at herself, but Steven doesn't see anything funny "Hey, don't put that worried face" The Nephrite exclaims calmly, going to spit some acid on a stone near her.

"Oh come on Centi, we are all worried about your sisters, now is not the time for you to close like that. After we rescue your sisters ... Do you want me to give you money to buy a drink or something?" Steven exclaims a little embarrassed scratching the back of his neck, he does not see the reaction of the green gem, at first, but she turns around and slaps the hybrid on the back.

"Better do it now, but you have to buy it" Centi exclaims with a small smile.

"Centi, I'm not old enough to buy alcohol" Steven exclaims, chuckling.

"Then lie, change your form or something, I'm sure if you were taller and maybe with slightly longer hair you would go through an age of majority at any time. It would be quite fun, you have to try a beer or vodka sometime" The green gem exclaims with a hint of joy, actually the hybrid is surprised that Centi knows so much about alcohol, but if she was happy to talk about it, he was a little happy.


End file.
